The Mysterious Traveler
by TJ Jordan
Summary: After an 'incident' during his sixth year, Severus Snape is sent to another world and is forced into a war that isn't his own. While searching for a way back, Severus journeys down a path of 'self-discovery', forcing him to reflect on his life and question everything he's ever known - 2nd installment to my Severus Snape Series!
1. The Boy Who Fell From The Sky

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hello everyone!**

 **Alright, some of you might be familiar with some of my work, most likely from a currently 'work-in-progress' story that I am working on, '** _ **Redemption**_ **'. And for those of you who are wondering (or fearing) about my plans for that story, I can promise you that I have every intention of finishing that fanfic. This is just a new idea that popped into my head that I wanted to give a try.**

 **Anyway, I was up the other night, thinking about the future chapters for my** _ **Redemption**_ **story, when a whole new idea came to mind. You know that '** _ **Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy**_ **' (or '** _ **Cornetto Trilogy**_ **', for short) between Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg? Well, I thought about using a similar idea in the form of this: '** _ **A Severus Snape Series**_ **'. Where** _ **Redemption**_ **is the first installment,** _ **The Mysterious Traveler**_ **will be the second.**

 **Now, just to make this perfectly clear, this story will not be a sequel to Redemption, despite being connected. I know this sounds confusing, but please bare with me.**

 **The whole idea is to create a series of different stories, some involving Severus Snape changing his life for the better in a different way (the main common similarity that some will have). Although, I am considering doing other stories that will have connections and their own story-arcs. I have an idea on how all of these stories connect and where they will lead.**

 _ **Redemption**_ **was a focus on Severus changing his life in the Wizarding World during his teen years, while also making himself into a new person. In a way, I like to describe that story as '** _ **Harry Potter** **meets** **The Blacklist'**_ **(you'll get what I mean when reading it). But this story will focus on something new and a little different, despite being similar.**

 **The main premise of this story is this:** _ **"After an 'incident' during his sixth year in Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, Severus Snape is accidentally transported to the world of the Avatar. While trying to find a way back home, Severus is thrown into a century-old war that he wants no part in and begins a journey of self-discovery, meeting new friends and deadly enemies along the way. But through his journey of self-discovery, he ends up questioning everything."**_

 **So, yeah, this fanfic is going to be my weirdest/strangest project EVER! '** _ **Harry Potter** **meets** **Avatar: The Last Airbender**_ **'!**

 **In fact, this will be my first official '** _ **crossover**_ **' fanfic story that I have done. When I decided to do a Severus Snape series, I knew that I needed to up the stakes and generate interest for a second installment. All of my other ideas would have served better as their own stand-alone story, but they couldn't top my excitement of doing this one.**

 **So when I immediately got interested in the idea of making the second installment a crossover with another existing property. It didn't take long to think of** _ **Avatar: The Last Airbender**_ **, as it is one of my favorite tv series of all time. The idea of having Severus Snape cross paths with the characters of the cartoon tv series sounded great to me, and I thought that it would hold enough promise and interest to be a follow-up to** _ **Redemption**_ **.**

 **Please keep an open mind while reading this, because I'm really hoping that this story will work and allow for my '** _ **Severus Snape Series**_ **' to become reality. It will follow the main show for a little while, just to help set the tone and get people into it, but it will eventually diverge into more original stories later on, while keeping some of the old ones. But it all depends on you guys if you want to see this continued.**

 **I should warn you that this story will rely heavily on the cartoon tv series and I highly recommend watching it if you haven't yet. At least the first season, but that would be a waste to just stop there. Why not watch the show and read this story? Sounds like a win-win to me.**

 **Please enjoy my newest and first crossover fanfic story, "** _ ** _The Mysterious Traveler_**_ **"!**

* * *

 **Chapter One:**

 **The Boy Who Fell From The Sky**

* * *

Severus Snape was no stranger to fear. In a strange way, it was almost like being friends with death from a long distance. But his fears ranged from different sourses, one of which was when it came to the first day back at Hogwarts.

Sprinting through the barriers of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, including a large crowd of parents waving to their children, Severus ran as fast as he could to catch the Hogwarts Express as it was about to leave the station, carrying his school trunk with him as it banged against his legs. People yelled at him as he squeezed through what little space he could find, ignoring their rants. As the train began to move, he stepped onto the first step and pulled his trunk to the side of him, opening the door.

Signing, he made his way to the back of the train, finding an empty compartment for some privacy. Setting his trunk down, he sat down and leaned against the window, closing his eyes as the train's horn rang in his ears, becoming a distant sound that echoed in the darkness that rushed to meet him.

A few hours later, he awoke to see the sun beginning to set in the distance, recognizing that the train would arrive at its destination an hour after it would disappear from the horizon. Rubbing his eyes, he sat straight up and reach down to his old trunk, using his wand to disable the lock spell he placed over it. Sitting it on the edge of his knees, he reached inside for an envelope and took it out, then took the trunk and set it to the side of him, recasting the locking spell again after closing it.

He stared at the envelope, dreading filling him as he argued with himself over opening it or not. Unable to take it, he sat the envelope on top of his trunk and exited the compartment, using the boy's restroom to splash water onto his face. Afterward, he made his way back, lost in thought and unaware of his surroundings, which immediately became his regret.

Suddenly, something hit his back, stunning him out of his thoughts as the ground rushed up met his face. A wave of confusion, heat and anger rushed through him as he struggled to withhold a moan.

"Hello, Snivellus!" the attacker casted another hex.

Failing to move away fast enough, the hex made Severus make a fist, nearly drawing blood.

"Have a good summer?"

"Of course he didn't, Padfoot," declared the companion next to the attacker. "This is Snivellus we're talking about."

His blood boiling beneath his skin, Severus quickly got up and took out his wand, casting a couple of curses directly at the two boys.

Managing to block his attacks, both of the popular Gryffindors teamed up, casting the same spell at the same time, catching the Slytherin off guard. While he managed to block both of their attacks, he realized too late that a third was sent his way, hitting him in the chest. Everything went numb until he felt his back colliding with the ground. When his vision became clear again, he looked up and saw the two standing directly above him, wands pointed directly at his face.

He tried reaching for his fallen wand, only to feel the shoe of James Potter pressing down on his hand, applying pressure to keep him trapped.

A small crowd had begun to form around them, people trying to squeeze through the small hallway to see what was going on. Severus easily spotted Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, the latter smiling with delight. Despite that Lupin looked disapproving of what was happening, Severus couldn't help but feel disgusted towards him, trying to understand how a coward like him could be a Perfect.

He saw a glimpse of red hair in the crowd and his heart stopped. A redhead girl pushed her way towards the front to see what the commotion was about. He met those green eyes, who stared at the scene in shock and confusion, only for those emotions to be replaced with anger and disgust. Just the reaction alone made him feel like he was dying little by little as he watched her turn away and disappear into the crowd.

Severus felt his heart sink and twist, unable to figure out what hurt the most.

 _'It's more of the fact that he exists-'_

 _'-mudbloods-'_

Closing his eyes, he kept the tears at bay, refusing them to be seen by the audience before him, let alone the two above him.

Turning his attention back to his tormentors, he watched as James stared down at him with a mischievous smile.

"See ya at Hogwarts, Snivellus! It's going to be an open season on your arse this year," he leaned in closer. "See ya around."

Removing his foot from Severus's wrist, he laughed with Sirius Black as they walked past the now dispersing crowd.

Leaning up, Severus glared at the two Marauders from behind, hating their cheerful laughter. Just the display of pleasure they've gotten from his torment multipled his hatred for how they could wear their hearts on their sleeves. He began imagining the vengeful things he could do to them if he had the chance, wishing to Merlin that one day he would get that chance.

Looking at the crowd that remained left, he could see pity, enjoyment, fear and even curiosity in the eyes of the Hogwarts students. He sneered at them, making sure his expression would frighten away.

Getting back up to his feet, he walked back to his compartment and sat down, staring out the window with a face red from humiliation. Though he wished to lose himself to the wonders of his dreams, he was unable to go into that realm of escape, instead remaining still as the sun disappeared and darkness took over across the sky.

Turning back to the envelope next to him, he picked it up and broke the seal, opening it. Though reluctant, he read the contents on it and felt his heart sink once he read the final words. Tears threatened to follow after he was done, but he kept them at bay. Lowering the letter, he stared at the floor, lost in his mind as silence filled the compartment.

So unaware of what was happening around him, it took the reducing speed of the train to snap him out of his thoughts. Looking out the window, he saw the familiar castle of Hogwarts in the distance, a beckon within the darkness of the night. Folding the letter and placing it into the trunk again, Severus joined the other sixth years as they boarded carriages for a ride from the platform of Hogsmeade Village to the school. He purposely made sure to sit as far from anyone who was with him in the carriage, hiding behind his greasy hair.

After entering the Great Hall, he took his seat at the Slytherin table for the Welcoming Feast, surrounded by his housemates.

He couldn't help but look over at the Gryffindor table, watching as the redhead from earlier interacted with her friends. She was surrounded by Mary McDonald, Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance and Alice Fortescue, laughing at something that one of them had said. Though he couldn't hear it with all the noise, he could imagine the sound of her laughter.

As he watched her, he felt a dark abyss open up in his chest, trying to suck any form of happiness away from him. Her smile made his heart tighten in his chest as if it was going to burst. He longed for her to smile at him, to laugh with him, to be with him as she was with the girls next to her.

The Feast went by far too slow for Severus's liking, barely listening to the Sorting of the new first years, the Headmaster's speech, and also the celebration of the new school year.

Sitting right next to Avery and Mulciber, the two attempted at having a conversation with him but were met with a low, _"Shut up"_ from him. Staring at the two he glared and grind his teeth, envy filling his heart as he watched them smile and laugh like there was no tomorrow. What he would give to have that life. To never have to struggle for anything. To have power like them.

His envy quickly turned to anger. Anger for his mother running away, for marrying the first broke she met and having him, to be disowned and choosing the life of poverty. Anger for his father's drinking and sudden outbursts. Anger for James Potter's bullying towards him and lack of consequences. Anger for L-

And just as quickly as it came, so too did it faded, to be replaced by sadness and guilt.

He wished with all of his heart that he wasn't born _Severus Snape_. He wished he wasn't the son of a muggle, let alone a drunk one. He wished he had been born as someone else. Someone who had the riches and the respect of others. Someone who wasn't him.

When he was younger, he used to listen to his mother's stories that she would tell before bed. His most favorite out of all of them was the story _of Alexander Augustus Prince_ and his adventures of traveling the world as a free, rich pureblood. It one of the few that was still past down by generations of the Prince family before his mother ended their line by running away.

The tale told of a very rich, handsome young pureblood wizard during the 18th century. While he was the youngest of his siblings, Alexander Prince was adventurous and ambitious. Because he was the youngest, he was overshadowed by his brothers and sisters, barely getting any attention. But in his solitude, he found freedom where others didn't. It wasn't until after graduating school did he leave his family to travel the world, exploring different countries and sailing the seas.

Finding other wizard civilizations, he learned a great number of things and gained wisdom. He battled monstrous creatures and foes on his journey to explore the world before he finally returned home and rejoined his family after twenty years away. Taking advantage of his knowledge and skills, he gained respect and fame from potion making, the invention of new spells and also becoming a famous author, having turned his adventures into a novel series of a character based off of himself.

It was always his favorite of the stories his mother used to tell him. But it was never the adventures that Alexander Prince went on that intrigued him, it was the fame and respect he got from them. His use of intelligence, skills and achieving what he could despite his neglected life.

But he knew that would never be him. This was his reality, his life. He was no Alexander Prince, he was just Severus Snape. A nobody.

As the Feast continued with the voices of students and staff members filling the Great Hall, Severus began to envy them all. He felt betrayed by how they could feel so at ease. So at... _home_.

* * *

Once the Feast was over, Severus made his way to the Dungeons of the Castle, the location of the House of Slytherin. Entering the Common Room, he decided to head directly for the sixth-year boys' dormitory.

Setting up his things, he got into his pajamas and was about to climb into bed until the door to the dorm room opened, making him turn to see Mulciber and Avery entering.

"Hey, Snape!" Avery greeted him with a smile, slapping his shoulder. "How was your summer?"

Severus sneered and pushed his hand off of him, "What do you care?!"

Avery ignored him as he leaned in, "We've got great news for you."

Severus raised an eyebrow, but kept his voice from hinting at his intrigue, "And what news could you possibly have for me?"

Avery turned to Mulciber, both smiling at each other.

"We got permission to take the _'You-Know-What_ ' from yours truly, _'You-Know-Who_ '."

Severus was surprised by this news, "But I thought they didn't accept students."

"Here's the thing," Mulciber jumped in, his face written with excitement. "Lucius's father just died during the summer, so that means that he's now the Lord of the Malfoy Family."

Severus frowned, "And how does that change the rules?"

"We're getting to that, just shut up and listen!" Avery rolled his eyes. "Lucius has convinced ' _You-Know-Who_ ' to allow Slytherin students, pureblood and half-blood alike to take the ' _Mark_ '. But he only agreed on the conditions of holding a ceremony at the Malfoy Manor and that only students going to be seventh years are allowed. We personally thought fifth and sixth years should have been included, but it still works our favor."

"In case if you haven't noticed, we're sixth years," Severus sneered, despite feel a rush of excitement.

"But here's the thing, it won't happen until the end of the school year. It was originally supposed to be celebrated on New Years, but 'You-Know-Who' felt it would be better to test the patience of those who would want to join him. It's a one-time deal, meaning anyone else who wants to join has to either graduate or drop out of school."

"And not just that," Avery snapped his fingers. "Every Pureblood family supporting him are going to be there for the ceremony, along with their children. It's going to be the biggest meeting ever, Snape! All of the Death Eaters under one roof for one hell of a celebration! I even hear rumors that the Dark Lord and Lucius are going to announce their plans."

"Just too bad we have to wait ten bloody months to get there!"

"Sounds like Malfoy is an idiot for arranging such a meeting," Severus sneered. "With the Ministry out to get anyone following _him_ , this would be the perfect opportunity to make their move."

Mulciber and Avery snorted.

"You don't think he and Lucius have that covered? They have sources to alert them of anything major happening. Everything will be fine."

"Yeah, you need to stop worrying, Snape!" Avery slapped his shoulder, earning a glare from the boy. "This is our chance to become part of something bigger, to gain recognition and power. It's what we and you have always wanted."

Severus stared at them, keeping his excitement well hidden, "I'll think about it."

The two boys tried to smile, though obviously disappointed by his answer.

"Remember, even if you decline this now, you can always join us after you graduate. Just sleep on it."

"And make sure you make the right choice," Mulciber added, giving him a look that suggested more to his words than he was letting on. "I would hate for you to end up on the wrong side."

The two gave him a look before getting into their separate beds.

Signing, he got under the covers and stared up at the ceiling, barely getting any sleep as the night pressed on. Avery and Mulciber's offer became the only thing on his mind, thinking hard about what he should tell them. But a part of him felt a little unsure about accepting so early, which was strange to him, feeling that his answer should be an easy _'yes'_.

If he did join the Dark Lord, he would be welcomed with open arms and accepted by the others. His skills in potions and knowledge of the Dark Arts had already gained him favor with Lucius Malfoy, who obviously had already recommended him to the Dark Lord. His future would be set, providing a life he always dreamed of having. He would be recognized for his talents, gain power and be able to rise higher than ever. He had failed to receive such attention from the teachers of Hogwarts, who had a distrustful nature towards Slytherins. While they gave grades the way they were supposed to, the points and the praise they received were very limited. Just the very fact he was Slytherin was more than enough for him to be ignored. And it was a prejudice that made him lose all respect for them.

Especially the Headmaster.

He knew that there was no possible future of being accepted as an apprentice or even recommended by anyone. Every possibility held no promise for him, except for one...

To join the Dark Lord.

What other choice did he have? It wasn't like anyone was going to notice his skills and talents. It wasn't like there was anyone else who was going to give him a chance at his dreams of potion making and testing his skills in the Dark Arts.

Anger rose up within him as he remembered all the times he was picked on for just being a Slytherin. How his half-blood status was keeping him from going any farther with the purebloods around him. If it hadn't been for his talents in potions, he would truly be alone. And he felt angry for the hard life his father forced him to endure.

But the thought of the redhead girl entered his mind and felt regret. A sense of dread and guilt filling his heart. _The Incident_ was still very fresh, especially after the summer he had endured in its aftermath. He had hoped that the pain would go away, that controlling his emotions would help, but it still lingered.

For so long it upset him how he was criticized for his interest in the Dark Arts. He hated how no one saw his intention was to study and learn from it, but instead choose to believe that he was going to turn dark and use it for evil. It always bugged him how those like _her_ saw only black and white, light and dark, like naive children.

Anger returned as the hypocrisy of others filled his memory.

Why were Potter and his gang the exception to rule-breaking, when all he did was defend himself? Why was he the villain, when it was he who was being bullied? Why did being a Slytherin suddenly make one an enemy of the Light? Why did he have to be an outcast?

He shook his head, knowing that any answer he got would change nothing.

If the so-called 'Light' was so eager to reject him, then he was better off joining the side that wanted him, who recongized his potential. If the world wanted him to be a Death Eater, then he might as well become one for his own reasons, not theirs. To give them exactly what they want and make them pay one day

 _"I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way-"_

He agreed with that statement, his eyes narrowing in determination as he turned on his side, facing away from the moonlight that shined through the window above, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

After dressing in his school robes and getting his school supplies for the following day, Severus ate breakfast in the Great Hall before anyone else was awake and made his way to the first class, _Defense Against the Dark Arts_.

Once he had picked out a spot in the back, he got himself seated and began setting his stuff up in an organized fashion. After finishing, he began going over his notes and experiments from the previous year in his diary. He ignored the students who later began to fill the room.

Just before class was about to begin, Severus saw the redhead girl enter with her friends, carrying her books as she giggled at something one of the girls had said.

Their eyes made contact for a few seconds, silencing her laugh.

For a second, Severus thought he saw something in those green eyes that always made him surrender to their will. But whatever it was, it was gone the very moment she turned away in distress, making her way to the front and taking a seat with her friends on the opposite side of the room.

Severus shook his head, refusing to allow himself to be hurt anymore. He had made his choice, just as she made hers. If she was going to take the side that rejected him, then he would take the side that would accept him. He needed to let her go and move on, no matter how hard it would be.

Just as the classroom was full, Marauders came through the doors at the last second, making him sneer at the sound of their carefree laughter.

The DADA teacher walked in from his secondary office in the back, smiling as he faced the classroom.

"Good morning, sixth-years!" he announced. "As Headmaster Dumbledore had announced last night, I will be your new Defense teacher, Mr. Percivial Knight. I hope you had a fun summer because I can promise you that this year is going to be very interesting."

Most the students leaned forward in their seats, curious.

"After having talked with the Ministry of Magic and Headmaster Dumbledore, I've been granted permission in showing you some of the darkest and strangest magical artifacts that our Ministry knows about. Some may say that showing you these is completely necessary and has no place in being presented to under-agers. However, I believe that while these artifacts may be safe in our possession and don't pose any threat, you need to experience a taste of the dangers in our world, especially when these are the kind you wouldn't know exist."

The classroom was now whispering to each other, excitement filling the air.

Moving behind his desk, Mr. Knight took out a briefcase from one of his drawers and placed it on top of the surface, flipping the switches as he opened it and reached inside.

Many of the students were at the edge of their seats, trying to see what he was getting.

With the top of the briefcase facing them, they all watched as the professor held something in his hands, a bright light reflecting his shadow off of the walls behind him.

Closing the case, he revealed a glowing orb in his hand for the students to see.

Many gasped.

Severus was suddenly interested by that point, wondering what kind of dark magical artifact would glow yellow light and what its function was. Even from where he sat he could feel a powerful presence radiating off of it. He was beginning to agree with the professor that this year was indeed going to be interesting.

"What you see before you is something that the Ministry has been trying to study for years," Mr. Knight explained. "We still have no official name for it, but there are those who call it the ' _Mystery Bal_ l'. There are some stories about this, one of which warn that those who touch it at its brightest end up disappearing and are never seen again. Now, any questions?"

One of the students raised their hands.

"Yes, Miss Lively."

"Is it safe to be around?" the girl asked. "You say that these are the most dangerous artifacts our world has ever seen. So why would the Ministry allow for Hogwarts students to be entrusted with this?"

Many of the students glared at the girl, annoyed that she was questioning an opportunity that was so rare for them to experience.

"Well, I can assure you all that many of these artifacts are safe, Miss Lively. Special precautions have been made for the other artifacts that I wish to show you in the near future. You see, while this one has been feared by others who once held it, it has long since been declared _dormant_ by the Ministry. No one knows exactly the true specifics of its origins or its full background, but it has done little since coming into our possession. Every attempt to study and get a reaction from it have all failed."

"Then why present it to us if it does nothing?" the same girl asked.

Even Severus was annoyed with the girl, glaring at her for her stupid questions that had already been answered.

"Because, despite that it has done nothing dark of the sorts, the Ministry still considers it a dark artifact. Everyone who has studied it agrees that there is a power within it, one that the Department of Mysteries wishes to discover. But it has discouraged many since its discovery. I only got permission to show you this for only today, so I highly recommend that you all enjoy this rare opportunity."

Some of the classmates sighed in disappointment.

"As I've already stated, there are some stories surrounding this. There was a man who sworn upon his life that he saw a medieval-like world, one filled with all sorts of different creatures and rings that gave those who wielded them great power. Another spoke of seeing a great wall of ice and dragons. And another spoke of seeing a world ruled by those who could control the elemtents. While all of these stories are unconfirmed, they all involved one specific detail... anytime someone has been in contact with this artifact, they all either have seen something other worldly or have disappeared."

The classroom started whispering to each other again, some expressing disbelief or excitement.

"Now, who would like to touch it?" the professor placed the glowing orb on his desk. "It's perfectly safe, I promise you. Many people have been in contact with this thing and none have experienced any harm. The only thing you will feel from it is warmth and a surge of power, but nothing else."

Hands flew up all around the classroom.

"Alright, one at a time," he sat the orb on a small display that held it perfectly on his desk, choosing the first student to start.

For the entire period of the class, students were selected to come and touch the orb of light.

Although he was interested in the mysterious artifact, Severus decided not to draw attention to himself, afraid of what the Marauders would throw at him. The entire time he looked towards where the redhead girl sat and watched as she talked to her friends, his heart aching at just the sight of her hair. His eyes hardened at the sight of James Potter and his gang behind her, noticing how the _Gryffindor King_ would whisper something towards her, only to receive no reply, making him sneer and slightly smile.

Unable to take more, he turned away and did the best he could to avoid looking in her direction.

"Alright, we have only enough time for one more person," Knight declared. "Who would like to go last?"

A few hands raised right away.

"Miss Evans, I believe you haven't had the pleasure yet. Come on up!"

The entire class, with the exception of Severus, watched as the redhead girl got up from her seat and walked up towards the desk, nervously reaching out towards the orb of light in front of her.

Once her hand made contact, she released a sigh of relief, smiling.

"How does it feel, Miss Evans?"

"It feels warm and... powerful," she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling she was receiving from the mysterious artifact. "Sir, how is this thing declared a dark artifact? It feels more peaceful than dark."

"Mainly because the Ministry doesn't know what it can do," the professor replied. "While it has in no way proven to be dangerous, there are those who want to be one hundred percent certain this isn't a weapon that can be used for destruction-"

Severus's attention was suddenly drawn to the front of the room, right past the Professor Knight and the redhead. He thought he saw something, a cloaked figure in the darkness. He swore he saw blue, purplish eyes from the darkness in the back.

Closing his eyes, he reopened them to find nothing there.

Suddenly the orb started to glow slightly brighter and its color began to change dramatically, unleashing a wave of power that caught everyone's attention.

The Knight's smile immediately turned to concern, "Miss Evans, I must strongly ask you to step away from the artifact and return to your seat."

As the redhead tried pull back her hand from the artifact her eyes widened at the result, pulling a little harder a second time.

"Sir, I can't get my hand free."

Severus felt his heart stop, noticing how the artifact was beginning to glow even brighter now, engulfing everything in the classroom. Right away, he rose from his seat and ran towards her.

"I can feel it pulling my hand! It won't let me go!" she cried, trying to yank herself free.

Knight approached her and tried to lift the orb, but it refused to be moved. He then took out his wand, casting a spell directly at the artifact, only to bounce right off and strike the ceiling.

The Defense teacher was at a loss for words, extremely worried now, "Alright, everyone, evacuate the classroom immediately! Send for Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, right away!"

Every student in the room began to run towards the door, some screaming in fear. The only ones who refused to leave were Severus Snape and James Potter, the latter following from behind.

Severus got to the girl's right side and took out his wand, quickly studying the glowing artifact and the handprint that traced around the girl's. He didn't even notice as James Potter went to the girl's left side, staring at her with great concern, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile, the redhead started crying, tears running down her cheeks.

"Mister Potter! Mister Snape!" Knight exclaimed. "You both need to get out of here! Leave Miss Evans to me and the school staff! We have no idea what this thing is going to do!"

"Lily, I'm right here," James touched redhead's shoulder, attempting to calm her down. "No matter what happens, I'm not leaving."

She turned towards the Marauder with fearful eyes, unable to control her sobbing.

Ignoring the professor and James, Severus continued to study the orb and suddenly got an idea.

Putting his wand away, he moved his left hand towards Lily's right and slowly began to slide his fingers under her hand. To his, and everyone else's surprise, the trace around the girl's hand allowed him entrance and he felt an invisible force pull him directly towards it, trading places with her.

Now free, the redhead rubbed her hand and turned her attention to Severus, who was now prisoner to the glowing orb.

As James pulled her into a hug, the two made eye contact and exchanged a look between them that was unnoticed by the Marauder. While her eyes and expression were a mix of fear, surprise, and shock; Severus's was one of relief and resignation. He couldn't help but feel relieved.

A wind started to pick up as the orb grew brighter with each passing second, circling around them like a tornado.

Noticing movement from the front of the classroom again, he quickly turned his head, catching a glimpse of a cloak flapping in the darkness. For a second, he thought he saw it try to move towards him, but was forced to retreat as if something was keeping it at bay.

"Mister Snape!" Knight called out to him. "What do you think you are doing?!"

Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the professor.

"I'm saving your lives, you bloody idiot!" he snapped at him. "Can you form a protection charm around me and the artifact?"

The professor looked at him with widened eyes, almost as if he had gone deaf, "What?"

Severus rolled his eyes, wanting to smack the professor on the head, "CAN YOU PLACE A PROTECTION CHARM ON ME AND THE DAMN ARTIFACT?!"

Knight hesitated before he nodded, "Y-yes I can... but Mister Snape, you'll be trapped within the charm, with no way to survive the potential damage."

"JUST DO IT!" he snapped, trying to make the man see the logic in his plan. "This artifact won't let me go and it's obvious that someone needs to be here in my place, and I am not going to be in someone else's debt! Now place the charm on me!"

It took a few seconds for the professor to get himself together, coming to the same conclusion as Severus.

"Perhaps if I took your place-"

Suddenly the orb's changing of colors stopped, settling on blue. A second passed before the light intensified and a ring of blue rushed out from the orb, throwing everyone backward, except for Severus. As they slid across the floor and crashed into some desks and chair, the room began to shake around them.

Realizing that time was running out, Severus reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, pointing it up in the air, _"Protego Maxima! Fianto Duri! Repello Inimicum!"_

Obeying his command, the protection charm did its work and formed a small shield around the artifact and himself, sealing them in and keeping anyone from entering its boundaries.

He watched as James, the redhead and Mr. Knight quickly got up from the ground, looking directly at the where they believed Severus to be before heading out of the classroom. Just before they disappeared from the doorway, Severus saw the girl look back, tears soaking her cheeks as she searched for any sight of him. For a single second, he got to see those beautiful green eyes actually wanting to see him without hatred or disgust in them, watching the sway of her red hair before disappearing.

Taking a small moment, he turned his attention back towards the mysterious artifact, feeling the heat and power radiating from it. His hand was engulfed in the light and sheer power of the magical orb, making its way up his arm and across his body.

Looking back towards the front of the room, he saw a pair of blue, purplish eyes glaring at him from the darkness. He began to wonder if he was seeing things, if his mind was playing tricks on him or if the orb was causing him to hallucinate.

Either way, it didn't matter to him.

Turning away, he closed his eyes and waited for the end, expecting the pain to come at any second. Feeling his fear rise, he began to bring up his Occlumency walls in preparation, but instead of pain he felt a wave of calm and peace flowing through him. And instead of fear, he felt comfort.

As he continued to build his walls of Occlumency, Severus began to question why he had done this. It was so out of his Slytherin beliefs, considering that nothing was gained except for saving the life of a girl. He wondered what the aftermath of his decision was going to have.

He would surely find no sympathy from Slytherin, especially from those who wished to join the Death Eaters. They would see this as an act of betrayal and weakness. He had saved a muggleborn, a crime that they wouldn't forgive. Even if he somehow survived this, he would be condemned for saving her, most likely bullied whenever the opportunity would arise for them. In a single act, he had destroyed his chance of joining the Dark Lord, a fact that he hated himself for.

Outside of Slytherin, he would find no one mourning him.

His father would most certainly wouldn't, though he could care less what the old drunk thought. His mother might, but he knew she would find a way to push the hardship of his death to the back of her mind. All of Gryffindor would most likely celebrate, especially the Marauders. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff wouldn't care, which was somehow a postive in his opinion.

The redhead entered his train of thought, but he knew how she would react to his death. Her reaction on the train was clear enough. Even her time at the Feast and the way she was smiling when walking through those doors of the classroom proved that she had already left him behind. If anything, being dead only made it easier for her.

 _But... what about me?_

As time felt as if it was slowing down, Severus couldn't help but laugh to himself, unable to conceal it as the orb grew brighter. He was a Slytherin, saving the life of a Gryffindor, a muggleborn. He was betraying his House and everything he was supposed to believe in, all because of one girl. If it had been anyone else, he would have ran like the others. But no, he stayed and took her place... because he wanted to.

A smile formed on his face as the realization dawned on him. He didn't know if it was the right decision or a smart one, only that it was a decision he wanted to make, that he was fine with. And for some reason that he couldn't understand, it was good enough for him.

Sighing, Severus prepared himself as he felt the light from the orb grow more powerful and bright, managing to shine through his eyelids.

A few seconds passed, feeling the wind hit his face at high speed, but felt nothing else happening. Refusing to open his eyes, he waited for the end and took a deep breath, until he felt himself falling. A rush of freezing, cold wind hit his body, sinking through the robes and making his skin feel like a bunch of knives were piercing through him.

Too afraid to keep them closed, he opened his eyes and he found himself falling in midair, right towards a large body of water that was waiting for him. His heart began to race, struggling to make sense of where he was and how he came to be in midair, not to mention over what seemed to be an ocean. As he fell faster and closer to the water, he instantly recognized glaciers rushing up to meet him. He knew that even if he managed to land in the water, the speed and force of the impact would kill him.

Looking towards his right hand, he realized that he still held onto his wand, a fact that surprised him. Steadying himself, he tried to aim for a glacier within his reach, one that happened to be flat enough for him to land on. He struggled to balance himself out and aim his wand perfectly at the same time, despite the interference of the wind. Just within seconds of hitting the ground, he positioned himself and yelled out, _"Aresto Momentum!"_

Despite casting the spell in time, Severus still made contact with the ground, feeling his whole body aching from the pain of the impact. He slid across the glacier, snow getting under his robes and ice cutting at his skin, and came to a stop just inches from the edge that lead to the icy, cold water. As the dust of snow settled, his body remained still, snow covering most of him as the cold wind whistled around him.

With his body in pain, his sight began to become obscured and his sense of hearing began to play tricks on him. He thought he could hear footsteps and voices in the background. His first instinct was to get up and run, find shelter from the cold and analyze the situation, but his body refused to obey him, feeling a wave of tiredness beginning to overwhelm him.

"Is he alright?" a girl asked.

A shadow appeared over him, along with two more following.

"I don't know," replied a childish voice. "It was a nasty fall."

"He's probably dead," said a third voice. "There was no way he could have survived that."

"But you saw me fly ten feet in the air and land perfectly on my feet," the childish voice replied.

" _And_ I'm still trying to come to terms with that. But seriously, what you did was like ten feet, this guy fell higher than that."

Severus moaned and slightly moving his head to get a look at his small audience, but was unable to focus.

"No way, he's still alive!" the third voice exclaimed, readying himself in a defense-stance, holding a spear in his hand. "Stand back, he could be dangerous!"

"Will you stop it, Sokka!" the female voice yelled at the one known as Sokka, punching him on the shoulder. "He's hurt and needs our help! Aang, can your Flying Bison carry all four of us back to our village?"

"Uh, yeah, Appa can definitely take us there," the boy known as Aang replied, rubbing his head as he stared down at Severus. "Don't worry... eh, stranger. We're going to take good care of you. Just hang in there, okay?"

If Severus could have sneered, he would have. The boy's voice was filled with so much genuine concern and optimism that he felt sick to his stomach, despite the pain he was under.

Although he was too weak to talk or fully get a good look at his _rescuers_ , he could still hear just enough to understand what they were saying and doing. With the one known as Sokka taking his legs and the girl taking his shoulders, including the boy known as Aang holding his back, they carried him to a large, grunting creature of some kind. As he was laid down, he felt the comfort of fluffy, warm fur.

"I can't believe that I'm allowing myself to get onto this fluffy, snot monster," the one known as Sokka complained.

"Well, you can always wait for some other kind of monster to come along and give you a ride home, before the freezing temperatures kill you," the girl shot back at him.

The boy opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated as he sighing, "Why do you always have to be right about everything?"

"Because I'm the smart one, and you're the idiot."

"Hey!"

Severus screamed internally, believing that the two would have been suited for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. As for the one known as Aang, he was obviously the Hufflepuff kind.

"Okay, first-time flyers, hold on tight!" he heard Aang call out. "Appa, Yip-Yip!"

 _Yip-Yip?_

Even on the verge of falling into unconsciousness, he could hear the animal growl and feel it leap into the air, only to land into the water with a loud splash. The impact against the water made him moan from the extra pain it caused him.

"Come on, Appa! Yip Yip!" Aang called out again, almost as if he was hoping for something else to happen with the animal.

"Wow, that was truly amazing," said a sarcastic Sokka, who laid right next to Severus.

 _I change my mind, this one definitely has some Slytherin within him._

Lying on his back of the unknown animal, he listened to the conversation between the ones known as Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Despite how much he felt the need to sleep, he wanted to learn as much as he could about them. Although unable to focus on the way his eyesight was acting, he could feel their attention directly on him.

"Okay, I have to ask, just where did this guy come from?" asked the childish one known as Aang.

He felt the pointy end of Sokka's boomerang against his head, making him sneer as he grew impatient and angry.

"Stop it, Sokka!" the girl snatched his spear and whacked him over the head, which made Aang laugh. "He could be seriously hurt and we wouldn't even know it."

"Oh, stop acting like a worried mother, Katara!" Sokka quickly took back his weapon.

 _Katara_ , Severus noted to himself. _Such weird names for every single one of them. Must be muggles._

"I have to agree with Aang," said Sokka. "Where did he come from? And how did he end up in the sky?"

"Maybe that weird blue light had something to do with it," replied Katara. "After all, it freed you and Appa from the iceberg. So maybe it had something to do with him appearing from the sky."

"Yeah, but at least Aang was stuck in an iceberg, he didn't just appear out of thin air," said Sokka. "Speaking of which, how did you end up in the iceberg, Aang?"

Severus could hear the young boy struggling to answer.

"Oh, um, you know what... I don't exactly remember."

He could tell that the boy was lying, something that the other two didn't seem to realize.

"Well, you did just get free of the iceberg, so I bet you just need some time to let your mind figure it out on your own."

 _Normally, I would agree... if I hadn't noticed the fact that he was clearly lying!_

"Oh, and since we're on the subject about you," Katara went on. "Since you're an Airbender and all, I was wondering if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?"

"Uh... no, I didn't know him. I mean, I knew people who knew him... but I didn't... sorry."

Once again, Severus could hear the trembling in his voice.

 _What was an 'Avatar'?_

"Oh, okay, just curious," he could hear and sense the disappointment in Katara's voice. "So, who wants to keep first watch over the... um... stranger, while the rest of us get some sleep? The sun is getting low right now."

"Well, not me," Sokka quickly announced. "Airbenders and flying bisons stuck in icebergs, light beams, mysterious boys falling from the sky- I think I need a nap to wake up from all of this madness. Thank you very much!"

Severus began to wish he had let the fall kill him instead. It was tormenting for him to hear any of this teenage drama, especially with the bickering between the ones, who were clearly brother and sister. As for the one known as Aang, he couldn't quite understand how he was mixed up in all of this. He didn't seem like someone the other two knew very well, judging by their conversation. In fact, even the conversation itself suggested that they had just recently met.

 _And what did they mean by 'stuck in an iceberg'? No one could survive being frozen in an iceberg without the help of magic._

"I'll keep watch over him," Katara announced as she moved closer towards where he was lying, covering him with a blanket.

Aang nodded, "We should reach your village in a little while. I just hope he isn't hurt too badly from the fall."

Just as he was about to fall victim to unconsciousness, Severus couldn't help but wonder just who these people were and why they were willing to help him. No muggle would ever help him, let alone someone of his kind. And besides, all muggles were distrustful towards him. As he felt the darkness start to overtake him, he got a glimpse of the girl next to him. He noticed how she was looking at him with curiosity and worry, noticing her blue eyes. They reminded him of a pair of green eyes, which made him feel both sad and content.

Just before he fell to sleep, his thoughts drifted to the mysterious orb and the cloaked figure who happened to be there. He could still picture those piercing blue, purplish eyes. They would have been seen as peaceful if it hadn't been for the darkness and the cloak that shielded the rest of its physical structure. Just remembering them made him fearful of the figure, hoping it was only his imagination.

So many questions rose as he about fell to sleep.

 _Where was he? What did the orb do? What was the orb? Who was the mysterious figure with the blue, purple eyes? And... was Lily was alright_?

* * *

As the night began to reign over the cold, icy waters, a warship sailed the floating glaciers, managing to avoid them with ease. At the helm stood a young man, the left side of his face scarred, eyes full of anger and determination. Even with the cold temperatures, he wore only his sleeping robes for warmth.

 _I've found him!_ the young Firebender felt his excitement rise. _After two long years, I've finally found him._

As the sun had disappeared over the horizon and the stars began to appear in the sky, he remained where he was. Ignoring the growing need for rest his body begged for. Despite his focus was on the open waters in front of him, he sensed the approach of someone behind but felt no need to see who it was.

"Nephew," came the voice of a half-bald man. "Please come get some sleep. You've been out here for far too long. I understand your... _excitement_. But you need your rest."

The young man remained quiet, having gone through this conversation with him just a little while ago.

He kept his attention ahead of him, "I'm fine, Uncle."

The bald man sighed and shook his head, turning away to go back to his quarters.

Hearing the metal door close, the young man continued to look out towards the ocean ahead, a determination deep in his eyes.

 _I will find you!_

* * *

 **So, how did you guys like the first chapter?**

 **As I've said before, this story will rely heavily on the hit cartoon tv series '** _ **Avatar: The Last Airbender**_ **,' so I highly suggest that you to watch the series if you haven't seen it yet. While this will follow a very similar path, the story will diverge along the way, but some of the story-arcs and characters will remain the same (for the most part).**

 **So, once again, please watch the show if you haven't seen it yet, and don't want to have it spoiled for you.**

 **I originally was planning to save the part where Severus is transported to the world of the Avatar for chapters 2 or 3, but I found that holding it off was dragging the story for me to write. So I decided to jump right into it and go full out. Besides,** _ **Redemption**_ **is the one that is supposed to go into more detail of Severus's detachment from Hogwarts and slowly building up to his new life. In this one, I want to completely take Severus out of his comfort zone and just have him go right into his adventure.**

 **I really hope you guys like the premise of the story. I already have a lot of the plot figured out, so you will be seeing more updates in the near future.**

 **As for those who are waiting for an update on** _ **Redemption**_ **, I'm currently reworking parts of the story and trying to figure out certain things (without any spoilers being revealed here). I can promise you that I am not abandoning it, just working things out with the plot and characters. If you're interested in reading it, I welcome you to. But I should warn you that it is going to be a darker version than this one (think in terms of** _ **Game of Thrones**_ **and** _ **Lord of the Rings**_ **, that kind of difference).**

 **Please review and thank you for reading! I'll see you guys in Chapter 2! ;)**


	2. A Strange New World

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hey everyone, I'm back!**

 **So how did you like the first chapter? I hope it won over your attention because I'm really hoping to continue this one. I don't know why, but I just feel like I really need to write this story. No, wait, scratch that... I _want_ to write this story really bad! ;)**

 **Also, just to warn you guys, this is part of the _'Severus Snape Series'_ I'm planning to do. So this will be the second installment.**

 **As for the plot and characters of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ , I am going to follow the tv series guide and try to remain true to what it has officially established, even though I will change and alter a couple of things. And while we're on the subject, I am officially retconning _The Legend of Korra_ from my story. Don't get me wrong, I do have a soft spot for Korra. But with the changes I'm making, I feel that it would be safe to leave the future up in the air and allow for more creative control. I'm just aiming towards keeping within the realm of this series.**

 **Once again, just to warn you, this story is going to contain SPOILERS for the entire series of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ , so I highly recommend checking out the show if you haven't seen it and wish to watch it. You have been warned! ;)**

 **Also, how did I do in writing the characters of Katara, Sokka, and Aang? I hope I was able to do them justice.**

 **Just a disclaimer: I do not own _Harry Potter_ or _Avatar: The Last Airbender_! They go to their rightful owners! I'm just writing this for fun, not money.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 2! And thank you to those who have decided to stay along for the ride and/or review. ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter Two:**

 **A Strange New World**

* * *

Severus couldn't tell exactly just how long he had been out. His eyelids felt heavy with sleep, refusing him to wake up. But with time, he slowly began to regain his senses, a renewal of strength coming back to him. His blurry version began to come back into focus as the darkness receded. Soon enough he had the strength to sit up and search his surroundings. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around and realized he was in a small tent, lying on some blankets.

Instead of his Hogwarts robes, he wore blue furry clothing, a fact that frustrated him because of how muggle-like it looked and felt. Letting everything sink in, Severus started to remember the events that came to be, feeling an urge to rush out of the tent and find his way back to Hogwarts. Lots of questions ran through his head, wondering if his shield charm had stopped the glowing orb from doing anything that would result in hurting _her_.

 _Stop it!_ he scowled at himself, slowly allowing calming down.

Sighing, he threw blankets off of him and got up. With his feet meeting the cold ground, he saw a pair of boots next to the tiny bed. Putting them on, he walked to the exit and moved the heavy blanket that stood in his way. Feeling the cold wind hit his face, he wrapped his arms around himself and pulled the fur he wore closer to his skin. Feeling his boots walk on ice and snow, he looked up and saw an entire village made up of tents and icy walls, with a large igloo to the far right.

There were people all around, mainly women and children, moving freely. As far as he could tell, there were no men to be seen.

Continuing his study of the landscape, all he could see was ice and snow, including the open ocean that wasn't far away. Wherever he was, he clearly wasn't in the United Kingdom anymore, let alone Europe for that matter. In fact, if his guess was right, he was most likely at one of the Poles.

Feeling the cold air and wind against his body, he struggled to control his body from shivering.

It didn't take long for people to start noticing his presence, heads turning his way as children rushed to their mothers and hid behind them. They all looked at him with curiosity and fear, while keeping a good distance for their own safety.

He sneered at them from behind his greasy hair.

"Oh, good, you're awake," came a cheerful voice.

Turning towards the owner of the voice, he met the eyes of the girl known as Katara, who stood next to her brother. He could feel the boy's eyes on him, holding his boomerang in his hand as he stared.

"How do you feel?" asked Katara.

Severus was surprised by the girl's genuine concern for him, and also annoyed.

"Fine," he growled.

Katara smiled, "Great! Gran-Gran said that you suffered no major injuries from the fall, although she had a hard time believing us that you actually fell from the sky. Oh, and by the way, I took care of washing your clothes for you. They were a little dirty."

There was a part of Severus that felt a little awkward knowing that an old woman and a young girl actually saw him without his robes. He felt violated and embarrassed, knowing that they got a good look at the scars that lied beneath his robes.

"I hope you aren't in any pain."

"No."

Katara sighed in relief, "That's a relief. When Gran-Gran and I disrobed you, I couldn't help but notice the scars and bruises on your body."

Severus felt his anger and humiliation begin to boil over, his face turning red.

"They're nothing!" he replied too quickly and aggressively.

Katara's smile faded at his response, "Oh..."

Sokka narrowed his eyes at him, "What are those names on your clothes anyhow?" he demanded. "I've never seen words like that before. What do they even mean?"

"They're just names that you wouldn't understand," he glared back, mumbling ' _muggle'_ under his breath.

" _Really?_ " Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so what are you doing way out here? Where are you from? How come I've never seen writing like that before?"

 _It's called English, you stupid muggle! Seriously, you can speak English, but you can't read it?_

"Oh, stop it, Sokka!" the girl glared at her brother. "You wouldn't be able to read Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom writing. I even bet you wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

"Shh," Sokka whispered to his sister, covering the side of his mouth with his hand. "He doesn't know that."

 _I can hear you just fine, brainless muggle!_

Katara waved her brother off, "How about we go check up on Aang. I think he would like to be part of this conversation."

She began to walk towards one of the tents, leaving the two of them behind as they at each other.

Shrugging, Sokka followed his sister.

Watching the two leave, he heard someone approaching from behind. Turning around, he came face to face with an old woman.

"Hello, young man," she said with no trace of emotion in her voice. "I apologize for my grandson's behavior, he's always been a distrustful one of _outsiders_ ever since his father left our village to fight in the war with the other men. Life here hasn't been easy for any of us, especially for my family."

Severus nodded, finding himself able to tolerate her.

The old woman narrowed her eyes at him,

"You are a strange one," she said with curiosity and suspicion. "Tell me truly, did you really fall from the sky like my grandchildren say? It's one thing to hear that a young boy was frozen in an iceberg, along with a flying bison. Not to mention that same boy turning out to be an Airbender."

 _Airbender?_

They were interrupted by the sound of voices coming their way.

"Come on, Aang," Katara was dragging the young boy known as Aang across the snow and ice to the front of the crowd, almost making him trip a couple of times. "Aang, this is the entire village. The entire village, Aang."

Everyone stared at the young boy, eyeing the weird tattoos on his arms, legs, and head; especially the wooden staff that he carried with him. Even Severus thought the kid was going a little overboard with the whole _monk-style_ he was putting on.

 _And what was up with the giant arrow on his forehead?_

Aang did a bow towards them, his hands holding the staff in front of him as he did.

The villagers slightly moved back from him, holding their kids by the shoulders. They watched his every move with fear, like as if he would attack at any second.

"Uh, why are they all looking at me like that?" Aang asked Katara. "Did Appa sneeze on me?"

Severus sneered.

The old woman moved right past him and approached the two teens, "Well, no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years. We all thought they were extinct... until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

Aang's eyes widened at the old woman's choice of words, " _Extinct?_ "

Severus frowned at his response.

"Aang, this is my grandmother," Katara introduced him.

"Call me _Gran-Gran,_ " the old woman replied.

"Alright, so we've gotten the introductions out of the way and everyone is here," Sokka sighed, getting impatient as he tapped his shoulder with his boomerang. "We have questions about what happened yesterday and none of them have been answered. Question one, how did you," he pointing his weapon directly at Aang, _"_ end up frozen in that iceberg?"

Staring, eyes crossed at the boomerang, Aang began to rub his neck, sheepishly, "Uh, I don't exactly remember yet. All I know was that Appa and I were flying over the ocean and then... everything went black."

Severus could hear the worry within the kid's voice, even seeing it in his eyes.

"Okay," Sokka accepted his answer. "Question two, what were you and... what was that creature's name again?"

"Appa."

" _Right!_ What were you and Appa doing out in the middle of the ocean by your selves, especially with the war going on?"

Both Severus and Aang looked puzzled.

 _Did the Dark Lord already make his move?_

"Wait, what do you mean _'war'_?" Aang asked him.

"He's kidding, right?" Sokka looked at Katara, who only shrugged in reply.

"No, seriously, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I haven't heard of any _war_."

"And neither have I," said Severus. "What war are you referring to?"

Everyone stared at the two of them.

"Please tell me that these two are joking," Sokka looked at his sister again, as if he was expecting an explanation from her.

"Maybe being stuck in an iceberg and the fall caused them to.. _forget_?" she offered, shrugging sheepishly again.

Sokka's eyes widened as he turned back to Severus, "Speaking of which, how did you end up in the sky? And second, we never got your name."

Severus felt his stomach drop and his heart beginning to race, realizing that speaking out had placed him in the spotlight now.

 _Good job, dunderhead,_ his Slytherin side of him taunted, knowing that every second that went by without a reply would only raise more suspicion of him. Thinking quickly, Severus said the first name he could think of, _"Alexander Prince!"_

Eyebrows raised at him.

"Odd name," Gran Gran frowned. "Are you by chance a member of a noble family?"

 _"If only!"_

"Well, would it be alright if we just called you... _Alex_ , for short?" Katara asked, smiling sheepishly. "Oh, and my name is Katara. The _rude one_ is my brother, Sokka."

"Hey!"

"And this here is Aang."

The monk-boy smiled, waving at him.

Severus forced himself to nod, sneering.

"Okay, now that we are all _acquainted_ , time to solve the mystery of just how you ended up in the sky and fell a couple hundred feet! I mean, seriously, how are you _not_ dead right now?!"

Severus himself couldn't help but wonder how exactly he ended up in the sky as well. He could easily deduce that the artifact teleported him to one of the Poles, but it still raised the question of what triggered it to teleport him to his potential death by leaving him high above one of the iciest regions in the world. And what could have made it respond the way it did when the Ministry of Magic had failed plenty of times before?

Knowing that he had to answer the question, he decided to go with a small version of the truth.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "One minute I was _enjoying_ my day and the next, a bright light came out of nowhere."

"Okay, but how did you manage to survive?" Sokka pressed on.

Severus glared at him, _"_ _I don't know!"_

"Okay, enough of making him relive his near death-experience, Sokka!" demanded Katara. "He survived and is in one piece, which is something that we all should be thankful for. And besides, it isn't the strangest thing we've seen. Aang here was frozen in an iceberg and got to live to tell the tale."

"Including Appa!" the boy smiled, raising his index finger.

Sokka rolled his eyes at both of them, "Alright, fine, I'll stop asking him questions."

Seeing his chance, Severus took control of the conversation.

"Since I've answered some of your questions, I think its fair that I get some answers to mine. Where am I?"

"You're in the South Pole, the last remaining village of the Southern Water Tribe," Katara answered.

Severus felt his anger rising with the names they kept saying, "What do you mean _last_? And what is the Southern Water Tribe? I've never heard of such a thing in the South Pole!"

Frowning at him, she shrugged, "The Southern Water Tribe is part of the Water Tribes, pretty much the entire South Pole... _or_ what's left of it. We are similar to the Northern Water Tribe, though they are much bigger than we are. Before the Hundred Year War, we used to be a thrilling society, filled with waterbenders and some of the best masters. But all of that changed when the Fire Nation attacked and started a war against the other three Nations. Since then, the Air Nomads and Southern Water Tribe have been reduced to nothing."

"And trust us, we're the lucky ones in all of this," Sokka bitterly said.

 _What is this girl talking about? I've never heard of any Fire Nation, of any three Nations. In fact, what were waterbenders?_

Before he could speak, the monk-boy stepped forward, shaking his head.

"Whoa, wait a minute, back up! What war are you talking about? I've never heard of any war with the Fire Nation. You say it been going on for a hundred years, but I've never seen it."

"Yes, I would like some answers too," Severus declared. "I would have heard of a war if there was one, especially if it has been going for a century."

"How are you both unaware of this?!" Sokka demanded in an upset voice . "This war has cost us more than you can imagine. People we knew and loved have been taken away from us, and our home has been destroyed more times than we can count, and that's not even including what the rest of the world has been through!"

While unseen by others, Severus saw Katara on the verge of tears, struggling to keep herself together.

"I'm sorry, Sokka," Aang lowered his eyes. "But I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Aang, I hope you don't mind me asking," Katara turned to him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "But how long do you think you've been in that iceberg?"

The Airbender took a moment to think about it, "A few days, maybe? Although it does feel like its been longer."

"Well..," she stopped herself to take a deep breath. ",... I think that it might have been a lot _longer_."

"How much longer?" Aang raised an eyebrow.

Severus could see where Katara was taking this and resisted the urge to call the monk-boy out on his inability to realize it too.

"I believe you've been stuck in that iceberg for a... _hundred years_."

"What?!" the monk was taken back before beginning to chuckle. "Do I look like a hundred-something-year-old man to you? There is no way I could have survived for that long."

"Think about it, it explains everything. You know absolutely nothing about the war, which was started a hundred years ago. I think the iceberg put you into some kind of hibernation, similar to animals. It fits and explains everything."

Severus admired the girl's intelligence, knowing that if she had been born a witch she would have been in decent Ravenclaw.

"But... what about Alex?" he motioned towards Severus. "He fell out of the sky, right in the same location where you found me, and he doesn't know a single thing about the war either."

Katara thought about it and sighed, "Okay, I admit it, I have no idea how he fits into all of this. Time-travel... maybe?"

" _Maybe_ it would help us understand what exactly happened if you told us more about where it is that you come from," Sokka offered, although his voice highly hinted at ulterior motives.

"Where I come from is none of your concern!" he snapped. "I can tell my presence is not welcomed here, so I'll do us all the favor and leave as soon as possible!" He turned to the monk, "Your bison can fly, yes?"

Aang nodded, "Uh, yes... but Appa needs to regain his strength before he can fly again. Being in that iceberg must have done a great number on him..." he stopped, his face lowering as he came to a realization, "... which is also proof that Katara maybe right. Being stuck in an iceberg for a hundred years would make a flying bison tired."

Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with sadness, "Look at the bright side, you and Appa are alive."

"Yeah, I guess," the boy's head hung low. "It'll be nice to see the new generation of Airbenders... I suppose"

"Okay, you keep mentioning those words again; _b_ _enders, waterbending, airbending._ What do they even mean?" Severus demanded.

The three looked at each other and then stared at him as if he was some kind of mad man.

Severus sighed, "Alright, never mind! I just want to get back home and pretend that this never happened! Sound good to you?!"

Although still distrustful, Sokka nodded, "I can work with that. Aang, how long before your bison should be able to fly him out of here?"

Aang shrugged, "By nightfall, maybe even tomorrow morning. I'll let you know when we can leave."

Severus nodded, suddenly realizing that he didn't have his wand with him.

"Did you happen to do anything to a _long stick_ when you found me?" he asked.

At first confused, Katara's face lit up as she realized what he meant, "Oh, yeah, I did. I took it with us when we loaded you onto Appa. It's back in the tent that Sokka and I use. You'll find your clothes there as well, but I highly recommend sticking with the ones you are wearing right now... for _obvious_ reasons."

He nodded again, "Fine."

"Our tent is right over there," Katara pointed directly at the spot it was at.

Taking his leave, Severus grabbed his stuff from the tent and put his wand into the only pocket of the furry coat he was wearing. As he carried his school robes, he decided to take Katara's advice and wear the clothes he currently had on, despite how much he wanted to be rid of them.

For the next couple of hours, Severus kept his distance from the village but within reach as well. He sat on a small hill of snow, overlooking the large body of water before him. He watched as the sun began lower in the distance, creating an orange color in the sky. Despite how cold it was, he used his robes to keep his head and neck warm, even moving around to keep the blood flowing.

His mind wandered back to Hogwarts and how Lily was doing. It almost killed him that he couldn't know for sure if she was safe.

 _Did the school believe he was dead? Was Gryffindor throwing a party in celebration of his demise? Was Lily the only one mourning his 'death', or was she one of the people who didn't care? Was Hogwarts in ruins and he was the only survivor?_

He groaned in frustration at the questions that kept popping up in his head.

Suddenly, something caught his eye as he looked up to see a flare in the sky.

Curious, he picked up his stuff and made his way back to the village, noticing that something was happening at the entrance.

Aang and Katara approached the villagers, looking guilty of having done something they shouldn't have. As he got closer, he could hear an argument going on between Katara and Sokka, their voices echoing across the frozen landscape.

"It's my fault," he heard Aang say when he got within reach to hear what they were saying.

"A-ha!" Severus cried out, pointing directly at him with an accusing finger. "The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!"

Severus sneered at the boy, watching as the kids ran from Aang and back towards the crowd.

The moment he reached them, Sokka turned his attention to him and met his eyes, pointing directly at him, "And there's his _spy-friend_! I bet the two of you planned to set off that flare for the Fire Nation!"

The moment he heard those words leave his mouth, Severus stopped and glared at him, "Excuse me?"

"Don't deny it!" Sokka glared. "You didn't just fall from the sky by accident, did you? You and Aang planned to infiltrate us, find our home, expose it to your Fire Navy friends, and hand over my waterbending sister to them!"

"I have no idea who the Fire Nation are, and I am not friends with them, let alone _acquaintances_!" he was on the verge of yelling.

"Doesn't matter! We've had enough of you two foreigners and are hereby banished from our village!" Sokka declared as if his word was law.

"I don't even want to be here!" he snapped.

"Sokka, you're making a mistake!" Katara spoke against him, infuriated.

"No, I'm keeping my promise to dad! I'm keeping you safe from enemies like them!"

"Aang and Alex are not our enemies!"

"But they could be, Katara!" Sokka tried to reason with her. "You saw the way how they've been acting and speaking, including their limited knowledge of the war. He fell from the sky and somehow survived, while this one was trapped in an iceberg. We barely know anything about them, except their names. If that's even their real names at all! Not to mention _he_ refuses to tell us where he even comes from! Tell me that he doesn't send off all the red flags!"

"Okay, maybe Alex does seem _unusual-_ "

 _Lady, you have no idea,_ he sneered.

"-but he clearly isn't an enemy. He isn't out to look for any Waterbenders. He just wants to go home, like Aang does. If anything, these two have brought us something that we haven't had in a long time. _Fun._ "

"We can't fight Firebenders with fun!"

 _Again, what is a freaking Waterbender and Firebender?!_

"You guys should try it sometime," Aang joked.

"Okay, that's it!" Sokka's face was red now. "Get out of our village now, both of you!"

"Gran-Gran, please!" Katara begged her grandmother. "Please don't make them leave. Sokka is just overreacting."

"I'm sorry, Katara, but you knew that going on that ship was forbidden," said the old woman. "Sokka is right. I think it would be best if the Airbender and Alexander leave now."

 _Will anyone ever explain to me what a bender is?_

"Fine!" Katara cried out. "Then I'm banished along with them, too!" She took Aang's hand, heading towards the flying bison behind them. "Come on, Aang! Come on, Alex!"

Severus shook his head and followed.

"And where do you think you're going?!" Sokka called out in anger.

"To find a Waterbender! Aang is taking me to the North Pole, once Alex is dropped off at... wherever he wants to go!"

 _Okay, I give up trying to figure that word out! Just get me the hell out of here and back to Hogwarts, where things 'actually' make sense._

"I am?" Aang seemed confused, which made Severus nearly sneer at the expression on his face. "Great!"

"Katara!" Sokka called out again, this time with a calmer and more reasoning voice. "Would you really choose him over your own tribe? Over your own family?"

 _"I would!"_ he said out loud, earning a glare from the boy.

Katara let go of Aang's hand in confliction.

As the sun began to set, Appa had decided to lie down and rest, ignoring the scene in front of him. Severus walked right past them and turned, waiting to see what her decision was going to be.

Aang sighed, "Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family. If you want to come, you can. But make sure it is what you want."

He approached Appa and motioned for Severus to climb onto the bison.

Although a little nervous of the animal, Severus pushed those feelings aside and climbed onto the saddle, along with his stuff.

"So you're both leaving the South Pole now? Is this truly goodbye?"

"Yeah, best if we got a head-start," Aang smiled slightly. "Thanks for _penguin sledding_ with me. I had fun with you."

"Yeah," Katara blushed. "I had fun with you too. Glad we could have that talk though."

"And sorry about the flare. But that talk did help me though. So... thank you for that."

 _Oh, dear lord, just kiss already!_ Severus sneered.

"So, where will you go, after you've jumped off Alex?"

"I guess I'll go back home and look for the Airbenders. Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in one hundred years. Definitely not looking forward to that."

 _If they hadn't given it to someone else since then,_ he rolled his eyes.

Aang did a twirl and jumped straight up into the air, slowly landing on top of the bison's head, waking the beast up from his nap.

The act left Severus dumbstruck, trying to understand how the kid did that. His first instinct was that he was a wizard, though he highly doubted it. He decided to ask him later about that, maybe even _finally_ know what a _b_ _ender_ was.

"It was nice meeting everyone."

"Let's see your bison fly now, _Airboy,_ " Sokka taunted.

Severus glared at him, hoping that the beast could fly, just to wipe that smirk off of the boy's face.

"Come on, Appa, you can do it!" Aang encouraged the bison. "Yip Yip!"

Sadly, much to Severus's disappointment, the bison only stood up, grunting.

"Yeah, I thought so!"

 _Don't tempt me!_ Severus scowled, tightening his grip on his wand.

One of the kids cried out and ran forward, stopping next to Katara, begging for Aang not to go. Rolling his eyes, he could see an exchanged look between Aang and Katara, just before the bison started walking away from the village.

Once they had gotten far enough away, Severus decided to act on the questions he had, "Hey, I have questions for you."

"Go ahead," Aang turned to look at him.

"What are _b_ _enders_?"

Pulling on the rope, the bison came to a stop as Aang stared at him in shock.

"What do you mean? I thought you would know what a bender is. Everyone does."

Severus shook his head, "Nope, never heard of them."

Though surprised, Aang shrugged, "Okay, so benders are people who have the ability to _bend_ the elements of the world to their will. There are the Firebenders, who are part of the Fire Nation. The Waterbenders, who are part of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. The Earthbenders, who are part of the Earth Kingdom. And finally, the Airbenders, who are part of the Air Nomads. All four of these nations make up the Four Nations, who rule certain corners of the world. The biggest being the Earth Kingdom."

"Wait, hold up, what are you talking about?" he was seriously lost. "I've never heard of any Four Nations where I'm from, including people who can bend any elements. Even this war those two were talking doesn't ring a bell."

Aang was giving him a look that questioned his sanity, "How is that possible? The Four Nations is everything to this world. Surely you must have heard of 'em, even the benders. That's like not knowing about the Spirit World _._ "

" _Spirit World_?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, where have you been this entire time?" Aang frowned. "It's like you're learning your history from a completely different world."

Severus's eyes slowly widened, the monk's words echoing in his ears.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Aang asked, now worried.

"What year is it?" he demanded.

"You're asking the wrong guy, Alex. I was in an iceberg for over a full century, so my guess could be wrong by a year or two, and that's if they haven't changed the time calendar design."

"Alright, then answer me this one, do you know of the..." he sighed, cursing himself for asking such a muggle question,"... seven continents?"

"Seven continents?"

"North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica? Any of those ring a bell?!"

"Uh, no. Sorry, Alex. Those _continents_ don't exist here, or ever did for that matter. Seriously, are you sure you're-"

"Do you know of Britain, London, France, the Atlantic Ocean? Any of them?" he was desperate for a _yes_ to any of them.

"Alex, I have no idea what those are, but I can tell you that they do not exist. I bet even Katara and Sokka would tell you the same."

Silence followed as Severus processed all of the information into his head and stared off into the icy landscape of the South Pole, falling back against the saddle of the bison. If his expression of one of shock and fear, he couldn't tell. He remembered what the Defense teacher told the class about the strange artifact, his words suddenly seeming more legit now. He began to realize that Ministry was right to fear the glowing orb.

"Alex, are you alright?" Aang's voice echoed through his ears, like sound down a tunnel.

Slightly shaking his head, Severus nodded, "Yes... fine."

Though not convinced, Aang nodded. "Well, let's see if Appa can fly. If not, we'll wait until morning."

The Airbender pulled on the robes of Appa and got the bison moving again.

Looking off into the distance again, Severus began to wonder what exactly he was going to do now, considering the situation he was in. A part of him hoped there were other witches and wizard out there, but he feared there weren't. If people here could bend the elements, then wizards and witches wouldn't be in hiding.

Wondering what this meant for his ability to do magic, he took out his wand and put his hand on the tip.

" _Lumos_ ", he whispered and his wand lit up. Sighing in relief, he quickly cast the counter-charm before Aang saw it.

As the sun got lower, his thoughts drifted to his current situation.

If he truly was stranded, then his journey to get back home was going to be rather tough. He didn't even know what triggered the orb to transport him to this world in the first place, let alone how to get back. He wondered if the mysterious cloaked figure had anything to do with it. Worry began to set in as he struggled to find a solution or at least a lead to go on that could help him in getting back to Hogwarts.

Back to... _her._

The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a different in this world. He wondered if there was no way back, if he was doomed to be trapped here until the day he died. The very thought made him all the more determined to find a way, no matter the cost.

Shaking his head, he looked back at the Airbender and became more curious.

Since he was here, a lot of questions began popping up. Were the benders similar to wizards? Were their powers connected to magical cores or another form of energy? What was rest of the world like? Was it like the technical world or a more medieval time-like society? Did benders and their version of muggles live together in harmony? Or did the benders rules over them?

Much to his surprise, Severus actually felt a little excited in exploring this new world. He felt the need to see what it had to offer and if he could use any knowledge to his advantage... a way to gain his own recognition and respect when he got back home.

 _Just like Alexander Prince._

He smiled slightly at the thought, beginning to think that maybe this unfortunate incident could be a stroke of luck.

* * *

 **So that was chapter 2! I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

 **I wanted to get the whole _'reveal'_ out of the way in this chapter for Severus, so we can explore different areas of being on a whole new world and having the freedom to actually explore it. Rather than just having him find out many chapters later.**

 **Some of you might have noticed that I'm having Severus go under the name of Alexander Prince in this story, just like _Redemption._ I apologize to those might not like this, but I can't help it. I just feel like Alexander is a good name for him, if he wasn't named Severus that is. I originally was going to with Marcus Prince or even Alexander Blackwater as his name, but thought it wasn't as good, so I decided to go with Alexander Prince instead.**

 **I know Alexander isn't a wizard name, at least as far as I know of. But I'm making it a common wizard name in my story. It's fanfiction, I get to make up some of my own rules.**

 **Message to " _actionliker_ ": _Glad to see you've decided to check this story out, and I'm happy to know that you're onboard. To answer your question about a possible love interest for Severus, all I have to say is this... 'stay tuned'._**

 **Message to " _CamFou182_ ": _This isn't going to be a spoiler, as it will never really happen, but to answer your question: 'No". A wizard cannot bend in this world, unless, they are born or given the power of bending an element. But I don't plan on going that route with Severus. I've decided to have him still retain his ability to perform magic._**

 **Alright guys, thank you for the wonderful reviews and the amazing support. It really means a lot to me.**

 **I'll see you in Chapter 3! :)**


	3. The Enemy

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hey guys welcome back!**

 **Alright, I'm hope this story continues to gain more readers/reviewers because I really want to see this story through. I'm just having such a fun, exciting time writing this story.**

 **I hope I'm getting the characters of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ right because I really do love these characters so much. And I love the show as well! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ or _Harry Potter_ (although I wish!)! They are owned by their rightful owners (which is anyone who owns the legal rights).**

 **Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 3! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Three:**

 **The Enemy**

* * *

"Sorry we can't fly out of here right now," Aang apologized to the dark haired boy, yawning as he sat atop of a donut-like snowhole, while the flying bison laid down below. "Appa still needs to regain his strength."

 _"Great!"_ snapped Severus as he sat on the ground with his arms crossed, his back against the animal's fur.

The bison grunted as it rested.

"Yeah, I liked her too," said Aang.

Severus sneered at him as he began to wonder what they were going to do when night came. They had no source for firewood for warmth, except for the animal. He supposed the creature's body heat would be more than enough to help them survive the night, but he still didn't like their situation. More worries came to him as he struggled with the possibility that he still had no idea what he was in for when they reached the mainland, wherever that was. He still had no idea where to start in searching for a way back home.

Aang's smile disappeared as something caught his eye and turned his attention towards the water. His eyes widening at the sight of a Fire Navy ship, just barely visible in the fog.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed, jumping to the ground. "We need to head back to the Water Tribe!"

Severus frowned, "Why?"

"Because there's a Fire Navy ship heading directly for the village," he pointed towards the water.

Severus turned and saw it, sneering, "They made it perfectly clear that they don't want us around. Why should we help them if they obviously don't want it?"

Aang stared back at him in shock.

"B-because it's my fault and I need to do something about it!" his expression became form. "And because... _it's the right thing to do._ "

While Severus sneered at that last part, he couldn't help but admire the kid for owning his mistake, though it did very little, "We'll be out-numbered, with only a girl who can bend water and has no training; a boy who loves to play soldier and most likely hasn't fought a real battle in his life; and a small number of villagers, who happen to be women and children. The odds aren't in our favor!"

Aang glared at him with disgust, "Well, I'm going! I don't care what the odds are, I need to help them!"

Severus shook his head as he ran off, promising a sleeping Appa he'll be back soon.

"You'll get yourself killed!" he yelled, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

Once the boy disappeared over the hill of snow, he sighed and slowly followed, arriving just in time to see him rushing towards a pack of hybrid penguins. Getting onto one, he began riding towards the village, gaining speed.

Looking back towards the ship in the distance, Severus scowled at the kid's decision, hating his Gryffindor-like behavior.

 _What did he think was going to happen? Save the day and scare the bad guys away?_

Staring at the bison, he wondered if he could somehow get it to take him to the mainlan, but quickly realized that the animal would never listen to him without the kid, and couldn't fly at the moment.

Sighing, he marched his way over to where the penguins were, using a _full body-bind_ curse to capture one and use it in a similar matter that the monk did. Though it was very difficult, he managed just fine as he slid his way on the back of a hybrid penguin back to the Water Tribe.

* * *

The sunset had brought in a fog, making it hard to see beyond the reaches of the Water Tribe village. If there was a Fire Navy ship coming their way, there was no way to tell, at least not until the ship had docked at its shores.

Sokka prepared himself for an attack that he knew was coming. He dressed in his best Water Tribe warrior outfit and had painted his face with war markings, an act of honor for his people. He sharpened his boomerang, prepared his club and put on his furry boots; keeping a look of determination on his face. The moment he saw the candle flicker at the movement of wind, he picked up his weapons and immediately ran out of his tent.

Ready for a fight, he stood at the top of the icy walls that stood between the threats of the outside world and the village within, keeping vigilant as he listened to his surroundings.

Although he was still upset about what Aang and Katara did earlier that day, there was a feeling of guilt within him. He felt bad for the way how he acted towards the Airbender kid. It was obvious he wasn't a Fire Nation spy, let alone an actual threat to any of them. His anger towards him was just based on raw emotion that he failed to control.

The only thing he didn't regret was the way how he spoke to the other guy, _Alexander Prince._ He didn't know why, but there was something about him that he didn't like, especially in the way he looked at everyone and acted. He couldn't deny that there was a level of mysteriousness surrounding him, which made him all the more interesting, especially to Katara.

But in his _experience_ , mysterious people usually never led to anything good, which made Sokka feel justified.

Suddenly, there was a small, distant noise in the background, getting louder with each passing second. The ground started to shake and the villagers began to run to their tents, screaming as they held their kids close to them.

Sokka immediately recognized the loud noise of ice breaking from the pressure of a ship.

Readying his boomerang, he noticed his _watchtower_ , which wasn't much to begin with, collapse from the shaking of the icy ground.

"Oh man!" he whined.

Feeling the presence of something _big_ coming right towards him, Sokka turned to find the front part of a metal ship coming through the fog, becoming visible for all of the village to see.

Gasping, he forced himself to be strong and to stay where he was.

Meanwhile, Gran-Gran watched in horror of the ship that was coming towards them. Katara picked up a child from the ground, rushing the boy to safety. As the ship got closer, large cracks spread across the ice from the pressure, going over the icy walls of the village and moving along the ground. When Katara searched for her brother, she saw him holding his ground on the unstable icy walls, quickly realizing that he was in danger of being hit by the ship as it got closer.

"Sokka!" she cried out, wanting to smack him for his stubbornness. "Get out of the way!"

Thankfully, the icy wall collapsed just before the ship reached him and moved Sokka backward with the debris, just out of reach. The ship came to a stop at the spot where Sokka used to be and a loud noise of steam could be heard from the engines within.

As an eerie silence followed, with the exception of the ship's engines, everyone began to come out of their tents and look up at the ship. They gasped at its size and presence of power within its shadow. Even Sokka's his arms and legs were shaking.

Suddenly, the very front end of the ship fell forward, making Sokka quickly back away, just inches from being hit by the steel as it made contact with the icy ground. The impact echoed throughout the icy land and a cloud of snow flew up into the air. Steam still came from the ship, making it hard to see the enemy that would come down those bridge-like, staircase steps.

As the steam and snowy cloud started to disperse, a series of figures appeared at the top of the steps, revealing Fire Nation soldiers and their leading commander, who were looking down upon them.

Kneeling onto one knee, Sokka stared at them with burning hatred.

The invaders made their way down the steps, fearing nothing before them.

Sokka began to run forward, making a battle cry as he readied his club for a fight. However, before he had the chance to strike first, the leader brought his foot up and knocked the club out of his hand. Before he could realize what had happened, he felt the same foot make contact with his head, making him fall into a bank of snow.

Everyone gasped.

The leader approached the crowd and looked at all of the elderly people. Despite the Fire Nation helmet that he wore, everyone could see the scar on his left face.

"Where are you hiding him?!" he demanded to know.

When no one answered, he reached forward and grabbed ahold of Gran-Gran by her furry coat.

"He would be about this age, master of all elements!"

When no one answered, the leader pushed Gran-Gran right back to Katara, who took her by the elbows to keep from falling. But before they could react, the leader unleashed his firebending into the air, letting them feel the heat against their skins, making women and children scream.

"I know you're hiding him!" he declared, becoming more frustrated.

Hearing a battle cry from behind, he turned to find Sokka running towards him with his boomerang. Although slightly caught off guard, the cry allowed for him to quickly dodge his attack and trip him, making him fall to the ground. As he prepared to send a ball of fire towards him, Sokka made another battle cry and rolled out of the way, which impressed the leader at his ability to react so fast. He was even more impressed when the Water Tribe Warrior sent his boomerang right at him, only having a second to dodge it. The attack left him surprised, but angrier as well.

"Show 'em no fear!" cried one of the children in the crowd, throwing a spear at Sokka. Rushing forward with the weapon, Sokka tried to cut off the head of the snake by running the pointy end through the leader, only for that very pointy end to disappear as the Firebender brought up his hand and broke the top off _._ Caught off guard, Sokka could only watch in shock as the leader took the spear from him and started to hit him on the head with the other end, causing him to fall backward.

Rubbing his head in defeat, he slightly smiled when he saw his boomerang come flying in from behind and strike the leader on the head. Landing right next to his feet, he quickly recovered it, but his smile immediately disappeared the moment he saw the anger in the leader's eyes, who lit up his fists into flames.

Suddenly, a penguin came sliding right from behind the Fire Nation soldiers at high speed, carrying Aang on its back.

Striking the leader, he fell on his chest, with his helmet falling off in midair and landing next to him. The penguin slid right past the cheering children, causing snow to fly into their faces, although they didn't seem to mind as they resumed cheering.

Coming to a stop, the penguin immediately bucked Aang off of him, quickly shuffling away.

"Aang!" Katara cried out with joy and relief. "You came back!"

"Hey, guys!" Aang waved to them, smiling.

"Hey, Aang. Thanks for coming," said Sokka, a hint of annoyance and humility within his voice.

Turning their attention to the hostile men in front of him, Aang got into a battle stance, ready for a fight with his staff.

Meanwhile, the Fire Nation soldiers formed a half-circle around him, with their leader in the mid part.

Taking his staff, Aang swung it to the left and right, sending a gust of wind towards the Fire Nation soldiers, pushing them slightly backward. Jumping into the air, he brought the staff straight down and created a ring of wind that went in all directions, getting snow on everyone.

"Looking for me?" Aang asked, although it was more of a statement.

"You're the _Airbender_?" the leader asked with surprise. "You're the _Avatar_?"

"Aang?" whispered a very shocked Katara.

"No way," Sokka stared at the boy with awe.

The leader and Aang started to circle each other, while the other Fire Nation soldiers held their distance.

"I've spent years of preparing for this encounter, training and meditating to fight the greatest bender this world has ever known. But you... you're just a child!"

Aang frowned at him, "And you're just a teenager."

Infuriated, the leader sent a wave of fire towards him.

Gasping, Aang starting spinning his staff to deflect the fire, struggling to hold his own against the Firebender.

Suddenly, something came flying into the air from a snow bank, striking two of the soldiers. Sliding across the ground and disappearing into a cloud of smoke, a penguin emerged and quickly shuffling away. As the cloud cleared, Severus stepped forward, his wand in hand.

Caught off guard, the leader then turned his attention towards Severus, including his men.

Sokka, Katara, Aang and the entire village turned towards him as well, shocked by his entrance.

"You came!" Aang cheered.

As the firebending soldiers shot flames at him, Severus put up a shield charm to protect himself and cast a few _Stupefy_ charms, taking down a couple of them. Using a couple of harmless curses and hexs, he took a few more out.

The leader was dumbstruck by what he had witnessed, but he quickly regained his focus, "What kind of sorcery are you planning at? Who are you?"

Severus sneered as he got into a stance himself, aiming his wand at him.

Meanwhile, everyone else was staring at Severus with wide eyes, unable to process what they had just seen. Even Aang was dumbstruck as he stared at him.

"Aang, we need to get out of here!"

"I'm not abandoning them!" Aang refused, holding his staff in a defensive position.

"We can't win this fight!"

"Neither of you are going anywhere!" the leader yelled back. "Seize them!"

More Fire Nation soldiers coming running down the steps of the ship, forcing Severus to prepare himself for a fight from all sides. He sent a couple more spells directly at them, hitting a few. He blocked a series of attacks from the leader, managing to hold his ground.

Screaming could be heard from behind him, turning to find that some of the Fire Nation soldiers had started grabbing some of the women and children. He instantly knew that he needed to grab the monk and leave as quickly as possible. Without the boy, he had no other way of getting himself off of the South Pole, but his opportunity was being blocked by hostile enemies who stood between him and the Airbender.

As more soldiers surrounded them, Aang lowered his staff, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone here alone?"

Severus wanted to smack the kid, knowing fully well that there was no way to grantee the safety of the villagers with this deal he was making. But, much to his surprise, the leader known as Zuko lowered his stance and nodded.

"I'll agree to your terms. But only as long as _he_ surrenders too," he pointing directly at Severus.

He raised his wand, making it perfectly clear what his answer was. But he was caught off guard as Aang brought his staff down and forced his wand out of his hand, landing into the snow.

Severus sneered at him, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Fire Nation soldiers grabbed them, tying their hands behind their backs as they took their weapons.

"No, guys! Please, don't do this!" Katara cried out as they were led up the steps of the ship.

Aang looked at her, smiling in a failed attempt to reassure her, "Don't worry, Katara! It'll be okay. Please take care of Appa for me until I get back."

Severus scowled at him, hating how naive the boy was.

The leader walked to them and declared, "You're now prisoners of the Fire Nation, you'll know me as Prince Zuko, heir to my father's throne."

He gave the order to set sail, declaring that he was going home as they began walking up the metal steps.

Severus scowled himself for getting himself into this situation, making a mental note to hit the kid when he got a chance.

Standing at the top of the metal stairs, the ship's engines gave off a loud steaming sound and the front end started to rise. Just before it closed, both Aang and Severus looked back at the Water Tribe and met the eyes of Katara and Sokka, who stared back with sadness.

With a _taut_ , the doors closed and sealed their fates, feeling the ship begin to pull away from the icy shores. After a few minutes, the two of them were then being escorted to the surface of the ship, meeting the one who called himself Fire Prince Zuko. For a quiet few seconds, they stared into the eyes of their enemy.

"This staff and stick will make excellent gifts for my father," he held the two items in each hand, studying them over. "The weapon of the Avatar, and the weapon of... well, whatever you are exactly," he glared at Severus. "But it doesn't matter, because either way, he will be more than pleased with my success. But I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers," he then turned his eyes on Aang. "Considering you were raised by monks, who refused to resort to fighting by any means necessary. At least your friend had a sense of honor to fight to the end."

Aang and Severus glared at him.

Ignoring them, he turned to his men next.

"Take the Avatar and his _companion_ to the prison hold! I'll come to interrogate them later. And take these to my quarters," he handed the two items over to a half-bald man.

"Here, you taking these to his quarters for me?" the same man handed them over to the soldier next to him.

Both Aang and Severus were then led down below the ship, heading through a straightforward hallway.

As Aang taunted the soldiers, Severus sneered at him from behind his greasy hair, eyes looking down at the metal floor.

He felt so angry and frustrated with his growing situation. In just one day, he had managed to get himself stuck in another world and get captured by an enemy he didn't know, all because he acted out of desperation to save the only kid who could get him out of the South Pole. Maybe he should have taken his chances of using the bison for himself. Or had placed the Airbender in a body-bind when he had the chance.

As the Fire Nation soldier used his key to unlock the door, Aang almost decided to use his airbending to free them but went against it as Severus was in the way of the soldier in front of them. The two of them were then placed in separate prison cells of a small dark room, only being lit by a small candle next to the door. Although still free to walk around in their tiny cells, their hands were left tied behind their backs.

Severus sat down on the dirty ground, closing his eyes as the door closed, leaving them alone.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Aang asked, curious about their next course of action.

Severus refused to answer him as he began to get to work on the rope his hands were tied in, hoping he had more than enough time.

* * *

 **Alrighty, so we finally get some action in this story.**

 **I just recently saw _'Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them' _the other night, so I was in the mood to write this. Small review of the movie (no spoilers, I promise), it was... _alright._ The characters were alright, the creatures were very creative and interesting, even the atmosphere and feel of the movie felt like a Harry Potter film, but the story and pacing had its problems. **

**Also, did anyone else feel we meet Luna's great, great grandmother in this film? Because I sure did!**

 **Thank you for the reviews guys, it means a lot. Please keep 'em coming. :)**

 **I'm excited to write the next chapter. I already know how it's going to go.**

 **See you guys in the next chapter and thank you for reading! Hope you are enjoying the story so far.**

 **See you in Chapter 4! :)**


	4. The Beginning of a Journey

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Didn't expect to get that many followers, but hey I'm not complaining. In fact, I dare say that it's a good start. Thanks, guys! :)**

 **Funny thing, I originally meant for this chapter to be part of Chapter 3, but I felt that it was a little too long and decided to split it in half (without going the Part 1 & Part 2 route).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _'Harry Potter'_ or _'Avatar: The Last Airbender'_! All of this is just for fun.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy reading! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Four:**

 **The Beginning of a Journey**

* * *

Katara stood at the edge of the ice, staring out towards the sea before her, a look of determination in her eyes.

"We have to go after that ship, Sokka!" she declared. "Aang and Alex saved our tribe after we kicked them out. They could have left us at the mercy of the Fire Nation, but they came back and sacrificed themselves to protect us. And now we have to save them!"

"Katara, I-"

"Why can't you realize that they're not our enemy?! Okay, maybe Alex isn't necessarily an ally, but Aang definitely is! If we don't help them, then no one will!"

"Katara!" Sokka raised his voice, trying to get her attention.

"I know, you don't like Aang or Alex, I get it. But we owe them big time and it's up to us to-"

"KATARA!" Sokka yelled, making her turn around to see him right next to a canoe. "Are you going to talk all day? Or are you coming with me?"

Her anger turning into happiness, Katara squealed with joy and ran towards him, throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Okay, get in, we're going to save your boyfriend," he motioned towards the small canoe in the water.

"He's not my-"

"Whatever!" he shrugged, half smiling.

"And what do you two think you're doing?" came a voice from behind them.

Turning around, they came face to face with their grandmother, smiling sheepishly.

With her expression disapproving at first, Gran Gran began to smile and presented a series of rolled up sleeping bags on the ground, "You'll be needing these. The journey ahead will be long and dangerous."

The two of them looked at each other, surprised and dumbstruck.

Sokka took the sleeping bags, setting them to the side.

"It's been so long since I've had hope," her eyes staring deep into Katara's. "But you brought it back into my life once again, my little Waterbender."

Gran Gran embraced her granddaughter and then turned to her grandson, "And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your sister."

A little disappointed in her choice of words, Sokka sighed and accepted her hug, "Yeah, okay, Gran Gran."

"Aang is the Avatar, the world's last hope at ending this terrible war that the Fire Nation has inflicted upon us for so long. But that other boy, _Alexander Prince..._ I believe he may have a part to play as well. I may not know where he comes from, or what his... _abilities_ are, but he is clearly no friend of the Fire Nation. Mysterious and unpleasant he may be, but he came to our defense in our time of need. They are allies our world desperately needs. I believe that you two found them for a reason and that your destinies are now intertwined with theirs."

The two siblings took her words to heart and looked each other, both coming to an understanding of what they needed to do.

"Not to be offensive to your canoe, Sokka, but there's no way we're going to catch a warship with this thing."

Suddenly, they all heard a loud grunting noise, turning to see the flying bison appearing over a hillside.

"Appa!" Katara exclaimed, running towards him.

"Oh," Sokka was appalled, "you just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?!"

After a while of packing their stuff onto the saddle of Appa's back, they climbed on top of the bison and led him into the water, waving goodbye to their grandmother.

Taking a final glance at their village, the two attempted to try and get Appa to fly. Or rather Katara tried, while Sokka sat down, lazily saying different words.

" _Go!_ _Fly!_ _Soar!"_

Katara sat at the neck of the animal, whispering into his ear, "Please, Appa, we need your help. _Aang_ needs your help."

" _Up!_ _Ascend!_ _Elevate!_ "

"Sokka doesn't believe that you can fly, but I do. Come on, don't you want to save Aang?"

Appa gave a small grunt.

"What was it that kid said?" Sokka asked. " _Yee-ha_? _Hup-hup?_ Uh, _Yip Yip_?"

Suddenly, with a loud growl, Appa brought the back of his tail up and slammed it against the water, beginning to rise from the water and take flight into the air.

"You did it, Sokka!" Katara praised.

"He's flying! He's flying!" Sokka had a look of amazement on his face, smiling. "Katara, he's-" The moment he turned and saw Katara's _'I told you so'_ smirk, he quickly dropped his happy face, "I mean, big deal, he's flying." Looking away, he instantly returned to the smile he had, gazing at the water so far below them.

Now in the air, the bison gained speed and headed off towards the smoke of the Fire Nation warship in the far distance.

* * *

After a while, the Fire Prince Zuko came to visit the prisoners in their cells.

The moment the door to the holding cells opened, Severus looked up and saw Zuko entering alone. Shutting the door behind him, he walked up to his cell, standing in front of the bars. Meeting the eyes of his enemy, the two stared at each other.

Aang watched from the bars of his own cell, worried about what was going to happen.

Severus continued to look into the eyes of his captor, unable to help himself as he stared at the scar on teen's face.

"Who are you?" Zuko demanded.

Silent at first, Severus sighed, "Alexander Prince."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "Odd name."

He refused to reply as he kept working the ropes that held his arms behind his back.

"You're obviously not from the Water Tribes, so where do you come from? The Earth Kingdom? The Fire Nation colonies?"

Severus answered again with silence.

Angered, Zuko glared at the prisoner and slammed his fists against the steel of the bars, "How did you do the things you did back there?"

The two continued to glare at one another.

"Answer me! Or else!"

"Or else what, you'll give me a nice tan? Like yours?" he sneered.

Zuko's entire face turned red, his fists lighting on fire as he moved forward, ready to send a ball of fire directly at him.

Seeing his chance, Severus immediately dashed forward from where he sat, the ropes that once bound him falling to the ground. Reaching out from the bars of his cell, he grabbed ahold of the Fire Prince, quickly pulling him forward. Eyes wide from the surprise attack, Zuko felt the impact of the cold steel greet his face, making his eyes roll to the back of his head.

Holding him still, Severus reach for a set of keys and unhooked them, letting the body of the Fire Prince fall to the ground with a _thud_.

Finding the key to his cell, he unlocked it.

"Whoa!" whispered a dumbstruck Aang.

Opening the Airbender's next, he spun the kid around, freeing him of his bonds.

"That was great, Alex!" Aang praised, only to have his mouth covered by Severus's hand.

"Quiet!" he growled. "I need you to take out the guards next!"

Aang nodded.

Preparing themselves, Severus opened the door and Aang sent a ball of wind towards the Fire Nation soldiers in the hallway, sending them flying against the ground. Making their way up to the surface of the ship, they then headed towards the metal door ahead of them, hearing a soldier from the helmsman area give the signal that they had escaped.

Going through a series of hallways, knocking out guards around almost every corner, they searched every room for their personal items. One of the rooms turned out to be the sleeping quarters of the half-bald man they had seen earlier, making Aang whisper, "Sorry" as he silently closed the door. After a while, they finally found the room that held Aang's staff and Severus's wand, grabbing them off of a mattress.

Reaching the control room of the ship, Severus cast a couple of _Stupefys_ and knocked out the guards, securing the area.

"Man, I wish I could do that!" exclaimed Aang.

Ignoring him, Severus went to the controls and tried to read the strange language, quickly reminded that he was in another world.

"I don't believe you know how to read _Fire Nation_ writing."

Aang smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, didn't get that far in my studies."

"Well, the good news is that all we need to do is disable the controls to the ship and then use one of the lifeboats to make our escape."

"You won't get that chance!" came an angry voice from behind them.

Turning around, Aang gasped at the sight of a very angry Zuko, who kept his eyes glued to Severus. Without warning, the Firebender sent a couple of fireballs directly him. Quickly deflected them with a protection charm, he was met with surprise as Zuko tackled him, making them fly over the control panel and roll towards the balcony. Getting back up, Severus was just a second away from being burned by the fireball that Zuko launched at him before deflecting it, but found himself falling off the balcony from the force of the attack. Seeing the metal ground rush up to meet him, he used the ' _Aresto Momentum'_ spell, managing to prevent himself from hitting the steel at high speed. Slowly landing on his side, he looked up and saw a series of bright, red lights from the edge of the balcony, signs of a fight going on between the Airbender and the Firebender.

Aang appeared, jumping over the bars of the balcony as he turned his staff into a glider, grabbing ahold of it to fly away.

 _Okay, I need to get me one of those!_ he watched in awe.

However, Zuko made the jump from a long distance and grabbed ahold of his leg, causing them both to fall. Doing the best he could, Aang managed to make their crash landing less harmful to them, but couldn't do anything about how they landed. Hitting the steel, both of them rolled and came to a stop on their stomachs.

Severus rushed over to Aang, only to stop at the sound of a growl from behind. Looking back, Severus saw Appa flying towards them, along with Katara and Sokka on his back.

"What is that?" Zuko stared in awe.

Even Severus was amazed that the animal could fly, completely caught off-guard at the sight.

"Appa!" exclaimed a happy Aang, who was distracted long enough for the Firebender to strike at him. Seeing this from the corner of his eye, Aang blocked his attacks with his staff, but eventually couldn't keep up with him and lost his balance, backing up against the edge of the ship.

Severus tried to come to his rescue, but Fire Nation soldiers started appearing on the deck, forcing him to handle his own situation.

With a series of more attacks from Zuko, Aang lost his staff and was struck by a fireball as he struggled to balance himself at the edge of the railings. Falling into the ocean, Aang began to sink beneath the freezing cold water.

"Aang, no!" Katara cried out from the flying bison, getting Severus's attention.

The distraction allowed for Zuko to strike him in the back, making him lose his wand as it flew out of his hand. Falling down, he groaned from the pain as his clothes were lit aflame, allowing the soldiers to attack him. Feeling their blows, a memory emerged in Severus's mind as he remembered his father hitting him with his belt, making him curl up into a ball in a failed attempt to protect himself. At the remembrance of the helplessness he felt, he also thought about all the times James Potter and Sirius Black attacked him, including how he was unable to defend himself against them as well. Anger rushed through him as he cried out in agony and rage, unleashing a wave of pure energy around him that sent the soldiers flying into the air and crashing against the rails.

Looking up as he realized the beatings had stopped, he was meant with surprise as as a fireball struck him in the back again, burning through his clothes but sparing his skin.

" _What are you!_ " the Fire Prince demanded as he shot another fireball at him.

Acting on instinct, Severus brought up his hands and whispered the protection charm under his breath. The fire struck an invisible force field around him and dispersed, which widened both his and Zuko's eyes. But before either of them could process what he had just done, something came flying out of the water, creating a tornado made of water.

Looking up, Severus and Zuko saw Aang at the tip of the _water_ _tornado_ , his eyes glowing pure white. Landing on the deck of the ship, Aang made the water travel around him like a snake and unleashed it on everyone that remained on the surface, with the exception of Severus. Zuko and some of his men got hit by the wave of water and were sent over the edge of the railing. Severus stared at Aang with shocked, having never seen anything like it before.

As the bright white light began to disappear from his tattoos and eyes, the boy fell forward from exhaustion. Severus rushed forward and caught him, supporting his little body with his arms.

Appa landed on the ship, with both Sokka and Katara hopping off, rushing to their side.

"Aang! Alex!" Katara hugged them both.

Aang's eyes opened and saw them, surprised, "Katara? Sokka? You came back to rescue us!"

"Hey, we couldn't let you both have all of the glory," the Water Tribe boy teased as Severus rolled his eyes.

"I dropped my staff," he pointed towards where it laid.

"I'll get it," Sokka immediately ran off.

Severus got one of his arms under the Airbender's neck and the other under his knees, carrying him towards Appa, followed by a worried Katara. As he did, some of the knocked out Fire Nation soldiers began to get back up, though they were struggling to stand.

Meanwhile, Sokka got Aang's staff, only to have Zuko reach up from the edge of where the anchor was hanging off of and grab ahold of it. At first startled, Sokka used the staff to hit him and make him off, although he managed to grab ahold of the anchor at the last second.

"Ha, that's from the Water Tribe!" Sokka taunted before immediately running back towards Appa.

As Severus put Aang on the saddle of Appa, Katara attempted to use her waterbending to take care of the soldiers, but accidentally froze Sokka's feet in the process.

"KATARA!"

"Sorry, Sokka!"

"I didn't ask for any of this flying, bending or magic!" he whispered angrily under his breath, breaking the ice with his boomerang.

Turning her back against the soldiers, she did the same thing in reverse and found that it actually worked, freezing the soldiers before they could reach her.

Severus found his wand and quickly climbing back onto the bison.

Sokka immediately followed after freeing his feet, running up the animal's tail as he shouted, "Yip yip! Yip yip!"

As the bison took flight, the half-bald man appeared at the doorway, looking up to see what the commotion was about, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Noticing the Fire Prince trying to get back onto the ship, he rushed to his side and helped him up.

"Shoot them down!" Zuko ordered, getting into a battle stance with the half-bald man, both firing a large amount of fire together.

Seeing the huge fireball heading their way, Severus brought up his hand and just by thinking of the protection spell's name, managed to deflect the fire and cause it to hit a large glacier, making the broken ice and snow collapse onto the ship, trapping it.

Although Sokka, Katara, and Aang cheered; Severus could only stare in silence and shock, unable to process what he had just done. He looked at the hand he had used to deflect the fire and then turned to the other... where his wand was.

* * *

The Fire Prince Zuko and Fire General Iroh both looked on as the flying bison made off with their prizes, disappearing in the long distance.

"Well, good news for the Fire Lord. The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a bunch of teenagers," the half-bald man joked.

Zuko turned to him, eyes full of anger as he held out his hand towards the destruction before them, "Those _teenagers_ , Uncle, just did this! And most of this wasn't even the Avatar's doing! It was that other one, _Alexander Prince_! I don't know how, Uncle, but he has the ability to do things that no bender in existence can ever dream of doing. And because of that, I won't underestimate him or the Avatar ever again."

Turning towards his men, he commanded, "Dig this ship out and follow them!"

However, much to his dismay, he saw that most of his men were frozen, while the others worked to unfreeze them.

"Uh, as soon as you're done with that," he turned away, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the bison.

* * *

The sun began to set on the horizon as Appa flew through the air to put some distance between them and their enemy. Severus found himself more tired than he ever felt before, struggling to stay awake during the silence. His eyes focused on the three of them, never letting them out of sight.

After flying for a while, Katara was the one to speak

"Okay, how did you do that with the water, Aang?!" she went crazy with excitement. "It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

Aang shrugged, sitting on the front tip of the saddle, with a sad expression, "I don't know. I just sort of did it."

"Forget the waterbending, guys," Sokka jumped into the conversation, almost as excited and amazed as his sister was. "What about what Alex did? He pushed aside an entire gang of firebending soldiers without even touching them! And single-handedly shielded us from a fireball!"

Severus began to blush, thankful for his greasy hair to hide it.

"I don't want to talk about it," he growled, turning away from them.

"But, Alex, we just want to-" Katara tried to reach over to touch him on the shoulder.

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" he snapped, making her flinch.

Although upset that he had yelled at his sister, Sokka moved away from him, frightened of his reaction.

Even Aang was surprised by his sudden outburst.

 _You should have left on your own!_ he shouted at himself. _But no, you had to play the hero and act like a Gryffindor, making the situation much worse than it originally was!_

He began debating with himself if he should depart from them or stick with them. On one hand, leaving them would help keep him from being discovered. He could easily change his appearance and cut his hair, being able to move freely. But there was a problem with that as well. Despite that he may be safe from being recognized on his own, he had no knowledge of the world he was in, including where he was going to start his search of finding a way back home.

And that led to the second option.

By staying with the small group, he would be with people who knew this world better than he did and would give him power in numbers as well. And being in a world that he barely knew, he was going to need some _acquaintances_ in order to survive.

Meanwhile, Sokka and Katara turned their attention towards the Airbender, who stared off into the distance.

"Aang, why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" she asked, her voice sounding a little hurt by the fact that he never shared the information with her.

Aang looked at her and then turned the other way, ashamed, "Because... I never wanted to be."

Severus looked at the young kid with interest, feeling some form of respect for him, a feeling he immediately scowled himself for.

A long moment of silence passed.

"But, Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war."

 _I need to ask about this whole Avatar thing later._

"And how am I going to do that?"

"Well, according to legend, you need to first master water, then earth and then fire, right?"

Aang nodded, "That's what the monks told me."

"Well, if we go to the North Pole, you can master waterbending."

Aang's sad expression turned to happiness and excitement, "We can learn it together!"

Katara smiled and turned to her brother, "And Sokka, I'm sure that you'll get to knock some Firebender heads along the way."

Sokka smiled, mischievously, "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

Severus's rolled his eyes but then realized that everyone's attention was on him now.

"So... Alex," Katara slightly smiled at him. "Would you like to accompany us to the North Pole? Or do you want us to drop you off somewhere and let you get back to... wherever it is you said you're from."

"Please come with us!" Aang pleaded with him. "I feel safer knowing that we'll have someone like _you_ with us on our journey. Especially with the _things_ that you can do."

Sokka nodded in agreement, "Yeah, even I have to admit that I'd feel safer too. I still don't trust you, but you've proven yourself to be a worthy ally against the Fire Nation. So that's good enough for me."

Severus thought about it and came to a decision, hoping it was the right one, "Fine. But the moment I find a way to get back home, I'm taking it."

"Great!" Katara's face lit up with excitement and happiness. "Now we're all in this together!"

"Alright, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to. Here, here and here," Aang pulled out a map and pointed to the spots that he apparently _needed_ to visit.

"What's there?" Katara asked, pointing at the first location he marked.

"Here, we're going to ride the Hopping Llamas!" Aang explained. "And then way over here-"

 _You're kidding me!_ Severus sneered at the kid. _This kid wants to take a vacation trip to ride strange animals?_

Ignoring him, Severus let his mind wander and looked towards the beautiful sky, enjoying the sight for him.

But his moment of peace wasn't to last.

Memories of his previous actions returned to haunt his mind, making him anxious as he began to add more questions to the never-ending growing list. Somehow, someway, he had managed to perform magic against his enemies... without using a wand or even saying the spells out loud!

Such skill was possible back in his home world, but it was very rare for someone to perform magic without a wand, and even rarer to cast spells without speaking them. But to do both altogether was something that was close to impossible, with an even shorter list of people who have been able to do it.

Feeling his body grow tired, his eyelids began to close, slowing down his speed of thoughts. Before losing consciousness, he made a vow to find the answers he sought and to find a way back home. A vow he was going to keep, no matter how long it would take to fulfill it.

* * *

 **Okay, so that pretty much covers the first two episodes of the series. I figured it would be great to change up a couple of things and add in some new developments.**

 **I thought it would be great to have Severus be able to perform magic without a wand or even having to say the names of the spells. In case if anyone of you are wondering how this is possible, I can promise that the reason for why Severus can do this will be revealed much later in the story. For right now, I'm just sticking to developing Severus's character with the Avatar characters. I have a few ideas in mind, especially a few involving a love interest for Severus (I'm winking at you, _'actionliker'_ ;)).**

 **But anyway, what do you guys think of the story so far?**

 **See you all later in Chapter 5! Hope you enjoyed this one! :)**


	5. The Visit to the Southern Air Temple

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Alright, a couple of things I need to go over first.**

 **Some of you who have been followers/reviewers of this fanfic since the first chapter might remember this story first appearing in the category of only just _'Harry Potter'_. Well, I need to address that a certain reviewer, named ' _pfft_ ' (odd name choice, but okay), called me out on why I didn't put this into the crossover section. Well, as it turned out, I didn't even know that one existed until that reviewer pointed that out. So I made some changes and put this story under the crossover of _'Harry Potter & Avatar: The Last Airbender'. _There, now everyone is happy! ;)**

 **And second, I will be skipping some story-arc episodes later in the story. Reason being is because I don't wish to fully recreate scenes unless if I feel it is necessary. Now, sometimes I may start off in the middle or end of an episode, or even just mention it but gloss over it.**

 **Again, please watch the tv show if you haven't already and wish to see it as its originally presented, without SPOILERS.**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I do not own _Harry Potter_ or _Avatar: The Last Airbender_! If I did, some things will be different and the _Great Divide_ wouldn't exist. ;)**

 **Please enjoy Chapter 5! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Five:**

 **The Visit to the Southern Air Temple**

* * *

After the incident with Fire Prince Zuko, the group had traveled beyond the borders of the freezing South Pole and made their way to the Southern Air Temple, reaching the Patola Mountains of the Southern Air Nomad territories. Resting next to a river bank, they set up camp for the night and awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed and ready to resume their journey. As Aang fed Appa, both Katara and Severus packed everything, while Sokka continued to sleep in his sleeping bag on the ground.

"It's going to be weird having to no longer wear these furry coats anymore," said Katara. "All my life, all I've ever known was the South Pole and the cold."

"No worries, you'll get used to the warm weather," Aang tried to cheer her up. "And besides, once we reach the North Pole, you'll be needing those again."

"True."

Once Severus was done helping pack, he sat down on the saddle and took his Hogwarts robes out, spreading them across the saddle. Taking his wand, he began casting a spell to change the style of his robes and erasing certain parts. The names of Hogwarts and Slytherin, and the greenish stripes were removed, leaving the robes completely black. He even casted a spell to make the robes longer, seeing as he seemed to haved gained more height.

"Okay, I still cannot get over that," Katara looked at him in awe. "How are you able to do this, Alex?"

Severus was annoyed with the girl, hating that she was asking so many questions about him. The last thing he needed was to share his past life with someone he barely knew. Let alone actually get attached to any of them, especially since he planned on going back to his homeworld the first chance he got.

Ever since escaping the one named Zuko, Severus was attacked by questions by Katara, Aang, and even Sokka. They would always try to make small talk, trying to get a conversation going, but when the moment came to ask their questions, he would always find a way to avoid answering them. And while his unpleasant attitude kept Aang and Sokka at arms-length, it was Katara who seemed to be the biggest challenge for him.

"Long story," he replied.

Katara frowned at him, "Well, we're going to be in each other's company for a while, and the journey is going to be long."

Severus ignored her as he continued to work on his robes, making sure he got every single detail right.

Katara sighed, angry that the mysterious boy's refusal to be social. It only continued to raise her suspicion and curiosity of him, making her all the more determined to learn his secrets.

While Severus was still letting the fact sink in that he could do wandless magic, even wordless, there was a part of him that was happy for it. In fact, he was excited about the discovery. If there were no wizards in this world, getting a new wand if he ever needed a replacement would prove to be difficult. And it opened the door for possibilities and new skills to learn. But it was also something he needed to look into whenever he wasn't in the company of the three he was with. He needed to know how this was possible and how to maintain this ability.

Realizing the tension, Aang tried to change the subject.

"Wait till you see the Southern Air Temple, Katara," he tightened the rope around Appa's horns. "It's one of the most beautiful places in the world, only rivaled by the Northern Air Temple."

"Aang, I know you're excited, but it has been over a hundred years since you've been home."

Severus could sense a mix of sadness, fear, and pity in her voice, making him sneer.

"That's why I'm so excited."

"But it's just that... a lot can _change_ in all of that time."

Severus wondered what she meant by _'change',_ especially with the way she had said it.

"I know, but I need to see it for myself," Aang hopped off of Appa, using his airbending to float to the ground, which was something that Severus was still getting used to seeing from him, including the waterbending from Katara.

He watched as the monk approached Sokka, who was still asleep.

"Wake up, Sokka! Air Temple, here we come!"

Sokka moaned and opened his eyes, upset at being disturbed from his slumber.

"Sleep now, temple later," he rolled to his side.

Although he didn't see it, Severus could have sworn he felt Aang smile mischievously, watching him reach down and grab a stick, using it to draw a series of circles on Sokka's sleeping bag.

"Sokka, wake up!" Aang cried out, faking a concerned voice. "There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"

Feeling something press against his chest and slither around, Sokka's eyes widened as he cried out in terror, somehow managing to fly up from the ground and hop a couple of feet.

"Aah! Get it off! Get it off!"

He tripped on a rock and fell on his stomach.

Katara laughed at the sight of him, while Severus sneered.

"Great, you're awake! Let's go!" Aang smiled down at Sokka, who was now fully awake and angry at the _early-uprising_.

Once boarding Appa and putting out the fire, they then began their journey to the Southern Air Temple. While on the way, Severus heard Sokka asking what happened to his _seal jerky,_ only to learn that it was used in getting the fire started the night before by Aang, explaining why the fire smelt so good.

Severus couldn't help but wonder why the monk would think that it would be used as firewood, as it resembled nothing like wood.

* * *

Zuko wasn't in a happy mood when he docked onto one of the Fire Nation's harbors that was closest to his ship. He had lost the Avatar, got his ship damaged, and was forced to go on a wild goose chase after the only person who could help him reclaim his honor and birthright. But despite all of that, he was more angry at the other one who was with the Avatar... _Alexander Prince!_

Never before had anyone both intrigued and infuriated him at the same time. His sister must definitely brought out the worst of him, while Iroh brought the intrigue, but this one had a way of getting both from him. The things that he could do amazed him and terrified him.

 _Just who and what was he? Where did he come from?_ _And what's his connection to the Avatar?_

Knowing he would find no answers at the harbor, both he and his Uncle set out to make arrangements to have their ship repaired, only to have them arranged for them by the leading officer of the harbor, _Commander Zhao_.

Zuko was no friends with the man, but he knew that he needed to be on his _best_ behavior in his presence, not wanting to draw any attention towards the reason why his ship was damaged. Although both he and Iroh used the cover of running into an Earth Kingdom warship, Zuko could tell that the Commander didn't believe them. His theory was proven right when he invited them to his tent for tea and to hear their _story._

Despite answering _no_ , it was General Iroh who took up on his offer, reminding Zuko to show respect. Although infuriated, he had to agree with his Uncle, knowing that it would help keep suspicions about his damaged warship as low as possible. For the next couple of hours, the three of them sat in comfy chairs around a small table, drinking their beverages.

Zhao went on to gloat about the Fire Lord's plan to conquer the Earth Kingdom by the beginning of summer, although he left out the details. By the end of his tale, Zhao was standing up, overlooking a large map of the Four Kingdoms, while Iroh was accidentally knocking over things as he looked at the Commander's personal belongings.

The conversation would then carry on over to the progress of finding the Avatar, something Zuko had wished to avoid.

"We haven't found him yet," he replied.

"Did you really expect to?" Zhao began to taunt him. "The Avatar died a hundred years ago, along with the rest of the Airbenders."

There was a need within Zuko to prove him wrong, that he had seen the Avatar himself. But he withheld his tongue, something he instantly realized was a mistake.

Zhao's eyes narrowed at him and smiled, " _Unless,_ of course, you've found some evidence that the Avatar is alive..."

He quickly looked him in the eyes, declaring, "No, nothing. Just like last time."

He turned away as fast as he said the words, realizing that he was making his situation even more complicated.

"Prince Zuko!" Zhao rose from his seat and approached him, bending down. "The Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you even have an ouch of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."

Keeping his anger contained, Zuko looked him in the eyes and replied in a strong voice, " _I_ _haven't found anything._ But I promise you that my loyalty to the Fire Nation and my father is what drives me to find him. And I will find him!"

He rose from his seat and walked right past him.

"Come on, Uncle! We're going now."

Suddenly, the guards at the entrance blocked his way with their staffs.

A man walked right on in, approaching the Commander.

"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed," the man reported. "They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar and another individual in his custody, but let them escape."

Zhao smiled and approached the young Fire Prince from behind, "Now remind me, Prince Zuko, how exactly your ship was damaged. I seemed to have been _misinformed._ "

Zuko sighed to himself, staring off into the distance with anger and resignation. Now he knew for certain that his attempt to keep the incident with the Avatar a secret was a doomed failure since the beginning. Of course, people would start asking questions, and he only added to the Commander's suspicions. He closed his eyes in defeat as he was led back to his seat, along with his Uncle.

Against his better judgment, he began to answer Zhao's questions.

A while later, the interrogation began to reach its end.

"So, tell me about this other _individual_ ," Zhao studied the young Prince, looking for signs of any lying on his part. There was a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"I don't know," Zuko replied. "All I know is that he fought alongside the Avatar and helped him escape."

"And how did they escape in open water?"

"With the help of a flying bison and two others," knowing fully well that they knew about that part too. "Are you done?"

"Not quite. I wish to know more about this second person that you captured and lost. My men have been hearing strange things about him from your crew. Apparently, he could do... _things._ Using a stick to perform abilities that no bender has ever done, almost as if it was magic of some sorts. What was his name?"

Zuko kept silent, knowing that this was one part of the story that they didn't know, "He didn't say."

"So a twelve-year-old boy and a mysterious individual of maybe sixteen-years bested you and your Firebenders," his voice was full of amusement and disgust, unable to face the Fire Prince at the moment. "You're a far more disgrace than your father gave you credit."

"I underestimated both of them once, but it will not happen again!" he declared, struggling to control his anger.

"No, it will not!" Zhao spoke with certainty. "Because you won't have that second chance."

Zuko's eyes went wide, desperate to convince him otherwise, "Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years, and-"

" _And_ you failed!" Zhao spun around, sending a small wave of fire into the air. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in the hands of a teenager. And now with this mysterious individual running around with him, with abilities that no one has ever come across before, the Fire Nation must treat this as an active threat. Those two are my responsibility now!"

Zuko flew from his chair, with full intention to strike the high ranking officer, only to be restrained by two guards from behind.

"Keep them here," Zhao commanded his officers, leaving the tent.

Still swimming in his anger, Zuko kicked the table and flipped it on its back, breaking the glasses of tea.

Iroh looked down on the mess and then held up his cup to the guards, "More tea, please."

* * *

The group had arrived at the Southern Air Temple, landing Appa on one of the old platforms that the Airbenders had used for their flying bisons. Aang was the one who was the most excited for them all, with Sokka being the only one who wasn't interested. After unpacking their things from Appa and freeing him of the saddle to rest, the four of them made their way up a series of trails, trying to reach the upper levels of the Southern Temple. Sokka kept on asking for food, which irritated Katara but also amused her, considering that they were visiting an ancient site that possibly no one had set foot on for one hundred years.

They reached an area that had large sticks sticking up from the ground, which Aang explained was used to play a form of _Airball._ However, he appeared to be saddened by the fact that none of his people, lemurs or bisons were around, which got Sokka to ask him if he wanted to play the game, as a way to make him feel better.

While the two of them were playing _Airball,_ Severus took his chance to approach Katara.

"Can you believe that we're finally seeing one of the Ancient Air Temples, Alex?" she asked him.

Taking a look around, he shrugged and replied, "I'll admit that I appreciate the structure and am impressed that they built this place so high up, but it's nothing truly spectacular. Especially since it must get cold up here."

The Water Tribe girl frowned at him, "Okay, seriously, why are you always like that?"

"Like what?"

" _Re_ _served and unpleasant!"_ she folded her arms on her chest. "Why can't you enjoy things like the rest of us?"

He remained silent, only staring at her.

"Ugh!" she rolled her eyes. "Why won't you say anything about yourself? What about your family or friends? You seemed so interested in getting back before, but ever since we rescued you and Aang from that _crazy, scarred-face jerk_ , you seem like you're dreading going back. Aang told me that you avoided the subject with him when he asked you. So I can't help but wonder why."

An idea popped into Severus's head, slightly smirking.

"I'll make you a deal. Tell me about what this Avatar business is, including how the Airbenders are related, and I promise to tell you something about me."

Katara was taken back, but also suspicious.

"Really? You'll tell me where you come from and how you can do those... _things_ , as long as I tell you about the Avatar?"

Severus nodded.

Smiling with excitement, she immediately began, "Alright, so there are four types of benders in the world. Earthbenders, Waterbenders, Airbenders and Firebenders, all born with these abilities through their ancestors who once wield them."

"Yes, Aang told me about the _b_ _enders._ What I'm curious about is what the Avatar is."

Katara glared at him, "The Avatar is the only one who can do all four. I'm not sure how the cycle began, but legend says that the _Mantle of the Avatar_ is passed down from person to person. Like the cycle of the seasons, every Avatar that dies is reborn as a new person. And it always follows a certain order, like the seasons do."

"Wait, _cycle_? You mean that the Avatar resurrects as a brand-new person?"

"Well... not exactly like that. Yes, the _Avatar S_ _pirit_ itself is reborn into a new person, but the legend highly hints that the Avatar Spirit and the spirit of the person it is hosting in are both different, but yet one and the same as well."

"Like a seed within an apple," Severus realized. "While the host may die, the spirit itself moves on, like a seed does when an apple reaches its end."

"I guess that is one way of looking at it."

"But what does the Avatar have to do with the Airbenders and this war?"

Katara raised her eyebrow at him, curious about why he doesn't know about this knowledge, "Well, the cycle of the Avatar is like the cycle of the seasons, as I've already said. When each Avatar dies, the next one will be a bender of a certain element. First is Air, then Water, then Earth, and Fire as last. It always repeats this process over and over again, but they always have to master the elements in order to reach their full potential."

They heard one of the boys cry out, turning to look before resuming.

"Anyway, a hundred years ago, the Fire Nation attacked all of the Air Temples around the world. They had hoped to kill the Avatar, which was supposed to be Aang. However, Aang wasn't here, and his people were wiped out, leading to the war that is still going on to this day. The Southern Water Tribe was hit next, shrinking us over the years... leaving only _me_ as the final Waterbender in all of the South Pole. Now, only the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe are all that stands against the Fire Nation. Other than Aang, of course."

"So there was peace before?"

Katara sadly nodded, "When my Gran-Gran was a little girl, she was told stories by her mother of the times before the war. When all the nations were living together in harmony. I don't know how it happened, but something changed the Fire Nation to make them want to take over everything else. Only the Avatar could stop them, which was why they attacked the Air Nomads first. It was a massacre, from what I was told."

Severus nodded as he realized, "He doesn't know, does he."

Katara's eyes widened as she turned towards Aang's way and then back to Severus again, "Please Alex, we mustn't tell him about what has happened here!"

"Not surprised that he hasn't figured it out yet, considering is inability to," he replied, almost as if he didn't hear her. "You're only preventing the inevitable by not telling him."

"But he can't know, Alex," there were tears in her eyes now. "It'll break him _._ "

"One way or another, he's going to find out. I won't tell him, but you should."

He walked right past her, hoping his words broke through to her.

"Hey, wait!" she ran after him. "I told you something, now you've got to tell me something about you."

Severus sneered, "I'm a liar _."_

"UGH!" she screamed, catching the attention of her brother, who was then hit by an _airball_ and sent right through a _goal-box-like-structure_. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO INFURIATING!"

The sound of her angry voice made him smile, only to vanish when it reminded him of someone else he used to do it to.

Sokka and Aang made their way towards them, panting from all of the fun and aching.

"Come on guys, there's a whole lot more of the temple to see!" Aang cried out as he ran up a new trail, leaving them behind.

"Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt," Sokka complained.

Severus rolled his eyes.

After a little while longer of following Aang's lead, both Katara and Sokka got into a conversation about Aang, when they knew for sure that he couldn't overhear them. Severus listened as they argued about telling the monk about what happened to his people, going back and forth about the reasons for going through with it and not.

They then found Aang in front of a statue of a monk, who the kid identified as _Monk Gyatso_ , explaining that he was his mentor and best friend growing up, bowing with respect towards the statue.

Severus felt a small amount of jealousy towards him.

Pushing those feelings aside, he continued along with them as they searched the temple, following Aang inside as he explained that there was someone he had to meet at the Air Temple Sanctuary. Going down a long tunnel of some sorts, they arrived at a large door, with strange symbols and structures on it. When asked how to get inside, Aang used his airbending to blow air into a series of pipes that were hooked on the door and watched as it opened for them.

The Airbender went in first, followed by them next. Allowing their eyes to adjust to the darkness of the vast room, they started to realize that the entire room was filled with huge statues of different people. As Sokka complained about there being no food, the rest of them looked around and began to inspect the statues.

Katara finally fingered it out that all of the statues of people were past Avatars, going in the order of each one's lives and the element of bending. Although Sokka was more skeptic, Katara fully believed it with every word she spoke.

Reaching the final statue, they all stared up at it, with Aang identifying him as _Avatar Roku_ , the previous life before him. Hearing that his past life was a Firebender made Sokka joke that he now knew why he didn't trust him at first.

During their conversation about the statue, there was a noise at the entrance of the large sanctuary, forcing them to hide.

Getting ready for a fight, Severus rolled his eyes again as the two siblings whispered at one another be quiet. Jumping from their hiding spot, they stopped at the sight of a lemur, allowing them to relax.

"Lemur!" Aang cried out.

"Dinner!" Sokka drooled at the sight of the animal.

The lemur titled its head at them, curious.

"Don't listen to him," said Aang. "You're gonna be my new pet."

 _Great!_ Severus sighed. _Because one wasn't enough already._

"Not if I get him first!"

The two boys ran for the creature, spooking it as it ran away in fear.

Katara laughed as they ran off after the lemur, while Severus shook his head.

* * *

 **Okay, I'm cutting it right here. I apologize guys, but I want to keep these chapters short, for certain reasons. One of which is that I made the mistake of doing way too long chapters in _Redemption_ , so I'm not looking to make the same mistake here. I already wrote a little more than this, but I'm going to put it in the next chapter.**

 **Anyway, are you guys still interested in seeing this story continued. Well, you can help keep me stay in the mood and in high spirits by posting a review, even if its a small one. :)**

 **Thanks for the support so far guys and I'll (hopefully) see you in Chapter 6! :)**


	6. The Shadow of Death

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **I apologize for cutting the other chapter so short, but I felt that it was necessary to do. Anyway, this chapter will complete what the other one started and I hope that I pay it off with the ending.**

 **Thank you guys for the support you have given me and I hope that this story continues because I really want to see it finished.**

 **I know I asked before, but how am I doing with the characters so far? In fact, are any of the changes that I've done actually helped improve a couple of things?**

 **Alright, here's Chapter 6! Please enjoy reading! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Six:**

 **The Shadow of Death**

* * *

After waiting for a long while, the Fire Prince Zuko heard Commander Zhao enter the large tent, passing his guards.

"My search party is ready," he announced. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, which has been fully repaired. You'll be free to sail anywhere you choose. But I must warn you, _do not attempt to follow me!_ "

"Why?" Zuko turned to face him. "Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?"

Zhao laughed, " _You stopping me?_ I never thought I would ever consider you a comedian, Prince Zuko."

The Fire Prince rose from his seat, "Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you."

Worried for his nephew, General Iroh rose from his seat as well, "Prince Zuko! That's enough!"

"No, let him speak his mind, General," Zhao smiled. "Let's be reasonable, Prince Zuko. I have hundreds of warships under my command, while you only have one. You're nothing more than a banished prince. No home, no allies... You're own father doesn't even want you."

The last part struck a blow to him, fueling his determination and anger, "You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar and this mysterious individual to my father, he will welcome me home with open arms, and restore my rightful place on the throne!"

Zhao laughed again, "It's amusing of just how blind you are, Prince Zuko. If your father wanted you home, he would have taken you back by now. You fail to realize that in his eyes, you are a failure, a disgrace to the Fire Nation. But what ultimately makes this even more amusing is that you continue to try and win his approval. A futile effort."

"You're wrong!"

"You have the scar to prove it."

Zuko rose quickly in front of him and glared into his eyes, "Aah! Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"An _Agni Kai!_ At sunset!If I win, I leave with my crew and ship without any interference from you."

"Very well, I accept your challenge," Zhao chuckled, turning to leave the tent. "It's a shame that your father won't be here to witness this. I guess your Uncle will have to do."

General Iroh looked at his nephew with worry, "Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened the last time you dueled a master?"

" _I will never forget!_ "

* * *

"We should go after 'em," Severus said to Katara, who was continuing to explore the sanctuary. "And leave this place while it's still midday."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed.

Just as they were about to leave the room, the eyes on Avatar Roku's statue began to glow, making them stop. Without warning, all the other statues' eyes began to glow as well, lighting up in a formation that went straight up the sanctuary, like a domino set.

"Oh no!" Katara exclaimed as she ran out of the large room.

"What is it?" Severus called out towards her, trying to keep up.

"It's Aang!" she called back, heading down the tunnel that her brother and the Airbender ran down. "He's in trouble!"

"How do you know?"

"Because only the Avatar makes that glow, and its always when something is wrong."

As they ran outside, rushing to find Aang and Sokka, the other Avatar Sanctuaries around the world begun to experience a very similar ordeal. The sanctuary in the Earth Kingdom, the Northern Water Tribe, and the Fire Nation all began to have the statues or paintings of the past Avatars' eyes begin to glow. They all representing the return of the greatest being ever known.

To some, it meant hope. To others, it meant fear.

* * *

The sun in the background began to set, casting an orange color across the sky and over the harbor.

In a box-like structure, that allowed for the sun to bathe everything it touched, Zuko knelt before his Uncle, listening to his advice as he prepared himself for his match against Commander Zhao. He took off his Fire Nation clothing, only leaving himself in his trousers.

Across the field of the earthly ground, Commander Zhao did the same.

As the two got into their battle stances, one of the Fire Nation soldiers rang a bell on the wall, signaling the fight to begin.

Making the first strike, Zuko sent a couple of fireballs towards his enemy, who dodged with ease. Despite putting his all into each attack, the Firemaster dodged or broke each one. Making his next move, he sent a long wave of fire towards him, only to see it being deflected.

General Iroh yelled for Zuko to break his footing, reminding him of the basics.

Smiling, Commander Zhao sent a couple attacks of his own, breaking the teen's stance and forcing him to slide against the ground. As he jumped towards the enemy, Zhao made an attack to finish the fight, only to feel the young Prince flip and bring his foot against his, breaking his stance.

Left with no choice, the Commander was forced to fall back with each attack that Zuko gave him, never getting a chance to retaliate. Unable to stop the final strike, Zhao went down, finding himself at the mercy of the enemy as he laid on his back.

"Do it!" he demanded, waiting for the end.

Without hesitation, Zuko sent a fireball directly where he wanted it to go... striking the surface of the ground next to the Commander's face.

Surprised, Zhao realized that he intended to miss, "That's it? Your father raised a coward."

"Careful," Zuko sneered down at him. "You wouldn't want him to hear that... _I have the scar to prove it."_

Zhao glared at him.

"And next time you get in my way, I promise you this... _I won't hold back._ "

As he turned to leave, he missed him getting back up and secretly making a strike against him, only to be foiled by General Iroh, who sent him back to the ground.

As Zuko attempted to strike back, Iroh stopped and calmed him down, before turning to the fallen Commander.

"So this is how the _Great Commander Zhao_ acts in defeat?" he asked him, looking straight into his eyes before shaking his head in disgust. "Disgraceful. Even in _exile_ , my nephew is more honorable than _you."_

Zhao glared at him.

"Thank you for the tea. It was delicious."

As they turned to leave, Zhao glared at the back of their heads.

Once they were far enough away, Zuko looked towards his Uncle and asked, "Did you really mean that, Uncle?"

"Of course," Iroh smiled at him. "I told you that Ginseng Tea is my favorite."

Zuko slightly smiled but made sure to keep it hidden from his uncle.

* * *

Finding Aang and Sokka wasn't too hard for Katara and Severus, as there was a swirling cloud of wind going around a large, torn-up building. Sokka was holding onto a large debris from the destruction, struggling not to be blown away.

Once reaching Sokka, they looked at the glowing Avatar across from them, who was looking down at a monk's skeleton body. His tattoos and eyes were lit pure white.

Severus stared at the monk with awe and fear, unable to process to the power he was witnessing before his eyes.

"What happened?!" Katara asked her brother as the winds grew stronger.

"Aang discovered Gyatso's body and that the Fire Nation was here," Sokka explained. " _He knows everything, Katara!_ "

"Oh no!" Katara's eyes widened, turning to Severus. A small moment passed between, one that made him aware of the regret in her eyes, before the two turning back towards Aang, tears beginning to form as she held onto the debris, "Alright, I need to get close to him and calm him down."

"Well do it, before he blows us all off the mountain!" Sokka cried out as he almost lost his grip.

As Katara slowly made her way over to him, Aang's body lifted off the ground and began to float into the air, a ball of wind circling around him.

"Aang!" the Water Tribe girl called out. "I know you're upset, and you have every right to be! Sokka and I have lost people that we love too! Monk Gyatso and the other Airbenders maybe gone, but you are still here! You haven't lost everyone! Me, Sokka and Alex are here for you, Aang! We will be here with you every step of the way! I promise!"

The wind began to weaken as Aang's body slowly floated back to the ground, the glowing light beginning to dim. Once his feet hit the ground, the wind stopped and everyone approached him, watching as the glowing light slowly disappeared from his eyes and tattoos.

As Aang fell, Katara caught him and went to her knees in order to support him.

"I'm sorry, guys," he whispered, tears falling from his eyes and cheeks. "I didn't mean to lose control like that."

"It's okay, Aang," Katara whispered, reassuring him as he sobbed into her coat. "It wasn't your fault."

Sokka went to his knees as well and embraced the two in a hug, letting the moment sink in for them in silence.

Turning his attention towards the ruins, Severus's mouth fell mouth at the haunting site before him.

On the ground were skeletons of Airbenders and Firebenders, a mass grave site of what Severus guessed to be a _final stand_. The mouths of the skeletons all hung open, like a silently scream that begged for a mercy that would never come. He could feel the markings of _Death's_ work all around him, a shadow that was casted to last for all time.

"You were right, Katara," Aang sniffled, his voice sounding like an echo down a dark tunnel to Severus. "Things have changed. If my home could have been invaded by the Fire Nation, then that means that the other temples have been attacked too. That's why no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years... because they're all gone. I really am _the last Airbender._ "

Katara embraced him, while Sokka put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

Severus struggled to bring up his _Occlumency_ walls as he took in the scene before him, unable to look away from the skeletons that once used to be living beings. He wondered how anyone could do such a terrible thing. To kill people as peaceful as the monks. To destroy a sanctuary that was meant to be a home to those who wished no harm onto others.

What kind of a monster would do this? How could others follow in such an act as evil as this? And what would make them want to?

Turning around, he saw that Katara and Sokka had formed a group hug around Aang, sharing his tears.

Meeting Katara's eyes, she weakly smiled and reached out her hand towards him, an invitation to join in.

His chest tightened at the action, only staring back at her in silence. He saw that smile disappear in disappointment and confusion, making that hole within his chest grow bigger. Instead of _blue_ eyes staring back at him, he saw _green_ , the only eyes that could threaten his _Occlumency._ Turning away, he closed his eyes, unable to turn back to meet her again. He knew what would happen if he did, fearing it with all of his being. He pushed all feelings away, focusing on building his _Occlumency_.

* * *

While packing up everything for their long journey North, the whole group was surprised by the return of the lemur, who had brought food for Sokka to eat. The act made everyone smile, except for Severus. With his mind still stuck on the horrific sight he had witnessed, he was keeping himself voided of any emotion.

Before leaving the Southern Air Temple, Severus watched as Aang stood next to Appa, along with the lemur on his shoulder. They stared out towards the ancient ruins of their home, silently taking in everything. It was in that quiet moment that Severus knew that the three of them would be bonded over this tragedy, as they were the last of their kind. An unspoken determination between the three of them to continue on.

Presenting the lemur to the group, Aang decided to name the creature, _Momo_.

Just as the sun was about to disappear over the horizon, they all boarded Appa and flew away from the ruins of the Southern Air Temple. As they moved over the mountains, the fog consumed the temple behind them, with Aang getting a final glimpse before it disappeared.

Severus looked towards the dark horizon ahead, wondering what the future held in store for him and the others. He couldn't get the sight he witnessed out of his head. It stuck with him even as they got further away. The sight of the skeletons and the ruins of the temple left Severus scarred.

He began to wonder what it may have been like when the temple was attacked. Imagining a great fire consuming everything, with the cries of the innocent, the sight of smoke reaching the tip of the skies, and even the bodies that were left behind with no means of burial.

Trying to get that image out his head, he began to imagine Hogwarts as well.

He began to see the towers collapsed, the Great Hall torn apart, the windows lit ablaze, smoke rising high in the sky, with the presence of _Death_ hanging over the once peaceful castle. He could see bodies all over the destroyed building, their mouths and eyes wide open, their skin decaying. And he could see _her_ among them as well. Dead before her time, eyes no longer green but empty. Her red hair and beautiful skin fading away as only her bones remained. And he imagined a dark figure among the fire, standing victorious over all those who had fallen.

Shaking his head, he turned his attention towards Aang, Katara, and Sokka, feeling uneasy about the unknown future he was presented with. Forced to accompany an Airbender, a Waterbender, and also a Muggle, while trying to search for answers and dodging an army of firending murderers as well? It was all too much for Severus as he felt _out of place_ , wishing he could go back home.

 _Home..._

He frowned as he thought about the word itself, realizing that he had no idea how to define it.

* * *

 **And cut! Perfect way to end the chapter and set up for the rest of the story to follow.**

 **I felt that we needed to see Severus come to a realization when witnessing this moment with Aang, Katara and Sokka. This was a nice bittersweet moment in the tv show, so I felt that it was a good opportunity to start showing changes in Severus. He's still a teenager, so seeing all of that death and destruction will definitely make him realize a few things.**

 **Well, I'll see you guys in the chapter! ;)**


	7. Certain Changes

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Okay, so sorry about the late update guys! I'm been busy with work and such, so I'm trying to get back to writing this and also _Redemption_ as well.**

 **Thanks a bunch for the reviews! It means a lot to me! :)**

 **Enjoy Chapter 7!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven:**

 **Certain Changes**

* * *

The group had been flying around for days, moving from location to location to find these strange creatures that Aang wished to ride, which irritated Severus. Their main goal was to reach the North Pole, not to go on a _Bison-Flyway Trip!_ There was an urge to hit him over the head for being so childish.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka held a map that detailed the Southern Hemisphere of the Four Nations, which also included a series of lines that showed where they have been.

"Well, I know it's near water," Aang replied, piloting Appa as they flew over the open ocean.

Severus rolled his eyes as he heard Sokka reply sarcastically, "I guess we're getting close then."

Ignoring him, Aang tried to get Katara's attention by doing some airbending trick with some marbles, only to fail as her attention was towards fixing Sokka's torn pants, replying in a disinterested matter, which made Severus sneer. But the amusement didn't last long as Sokka went on to a sexist statement about how girls were good at sewing and that guys were better at hunting and fighting. A remark that made both Katara and Severus irritated at him for. Though Severus couldn't help but smile as Katara threw her brother's half-sowed pants into his face, sarcastically declaring that she was all done. He even almost laughed when Sokka desperately began begging her not to stop her progress.

While he didn't see it, the Water Tribe girl had noticed his smile from the corner of her eye, making her smile in return.

"Relax, Sokka," said Aang. "Where we're going, you won't need any pants."

Severus raised an eyebrow at his choice of words, feeling the bison turn and begin flying for an island in the distance.

Once Appa had settled on the shore of the island, which was mostly covered by melting snow, the three of them got off of the bison and took a look around.

"No offense Aang, but we need to stop with these _animal-joy-rides_ and start getting on our way to the North Pole," said Sokka. "We've been flying around in the Southern Hemisphere for days and we still haven't even reached the shores of this Earth Kingdom yet."

"I'm in agreement," said Katara. "We just made a pit stop yesterday and haven't even gotten that far. I think we should get more flying done before we make camp for the night. At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."

"But Appa's tired already, aren't you, boy?" the Airbender tried to counter them, nudging the large animal when it only slightly made a grunt in return. "I said, _aren't you, boy?_ "

Severus rolled his eyes when the bison yawned a little, yet was still wide awake.

"Yeah, real convincing," Sokka shook his head. "Still, hard to argue with a ten ton magical monster."

Appa growled.

"Look!" Aang cried out, pointed directly towards the water, just in time as a large sea creature of some kind came flying into the air and disappearing beneath the waves. "That's why we're here... _Elephant Koi!_ And I'm going to ride one! Katara, you gotta watch me!"

All three of them watched as the Airbender disrobed, with the exception of his undergarments, and jump into the freezing water, swimming for the sea creature and managing to catch it, just before it made another leap into the air. He began riding it as it swam around, which impressed and excited Katara. Even Momo began to jump up and down at the sight.

Only Severus and Sokka appeared to be unimpressed during the event.

 _This kid is almost as bad as the Marauders!_

Katara soon had to run off to make sure Appa didn't eat something he wasn't supposed to, only to immediately return when both Alex and Severus saw something in the water, swimming directly for Aang and the Elephant Koi. Calling for him to come back, they watched as he fell from the sea creature, only for a giant fin to appear over him, represent the _tip of the iceberg_ that lied beneath the water.

Immediately recognizing that he was in danger, Aang began running on top of the water, using his airbending to carry him to shore. He accidentally crashed right into Sokka and the two of them slid to the snowbank of a tree.

The moment Katara, Severus and Momo reached them, Aang was already putting his robes back on.

"What was that thing?" Katara asked.

The Airbender shrugged the moment he put his clothes back on, "I don't know."

"Well, let's not stick around to find out," Sokka got up, rubbing his hands together to get off the snow. "Time to hit the _skies_ and make our way north."

"Finally!" Severus shook his head.

Suddenly, hidden figures from the tree branches dropped down to the ground, surrounding them.

Dressed in weird green dresses, including makeup that reminded Severus of the what Chinese muggles use, and also metal fans that shined in the exposure of the sun; they quickly began taking out each of them at a time.

Sokka was taken out first, then Katara, followed by Aang, and finally Momo, who was tied up in a small bag.

Severus quickly brought up his arms and readied his hands, performing a stance that he was taught to do in DADA class, just without his wand. He immediately hated himself for not bringing his wand with him, feeling defenseless without it. Although he knew his wandless magic skills were terrible at the moment, he put aside all doubts to concentrate on what he needed to do.

Immediately choosing a _stunning magic spell_ to use, Severus targeted one of the attackers closest to him and put forth all of his concentration into the spell. But the moment he felt the spell leave his body and out of his hand, he watched in disappointment as his spell only pushed the intended target backward and fall to the ground, gasping at him with wide eyes.

Feeling his body become weak and tired from the attempt, he also felt something strike him on the side of his head, falling to the ground as he began to lose consciousness.

Before things went black and silent, the last thing he heard was Sokka, " _Or_ we could stay awhile."

* * *

 _A series of different visions came to him, random momentsbeing played before his eyes. One in particular that played out in full detail._

 _A six-year-old boy watched from the corner of the living room as his parents argued, their shadows overshadowing him and the wall his back was against. Tears ran down his cheeks, struggling to keep his sobbing low so his drunken father didn't hear him. He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in between his chest and legs._

 _A woman and a manwent at it like they always did, yelling at each other, until eventually resorting to throwing things against the walls. Shattering personal items until Tobias brought his hand up and struck his wife on her cheek, making her fall to the ground._ _Worried for the safety of his mother, the boy rose from his hiding spot and ran towards his father, grabbing ahold of his arm before he could get to his knees and start punching her._

 _He watched as his father's attention immediately turned towards him. His eyes looking directly into his, sending a chill throughout his entire body. He saw anger, disgust and absolute hatred. All staring right back at him._

 _Before he knew it, the man grabbed ahold of him by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the air, crashing against floor of the living room. Still aching from the pain, he felt his father's hand grab him by the shoulder and flip him onto his side. He didn't even have time to cry out as his father's fist fell and struck him in the face, making his head bounce off the floor._

 _His father repeated the process again._

 _And again._

 _And again._

 _And soon... a pool of blood went around the boy's head, his nose left crooked. Before losing consciousness, a single tear fell from his eye and traveled down his cheek, falling into the large pool of blood that stained the floor._

 _Never to be seen again._

* * *

Severus slowly began to open his eyes, using his _Occlumency_ walls to push the dream far from his mind. Once he got better control of his senses, he found himself in a bed, blankets covering him. There was a candle of light on a table to the side of him, including a cup. Leaning up, he rubbed the side of his head and sighed.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake," came the voice of the Water Tribe girl, who was sitting in a chair across from him. "I was beginning to worry that you would never wake up."

Severus looked at her and then turned his attention towards the window, seeing that the sun was beginning to set in the distance.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Katara rose from her seat and took the cup from the table, handing it to him.

Taking the cup, he began to drink from it, enjoying the feel of the cool water rushing down his throat.

"We're in a small village of the Kyoshi Island, which was actually what we've been on this whole time," she answered, looking at him with worry. "The girls who attacked us are the protectors of the island, known as the Kyoshi Warriors. After taking us prisoner, they released us the moment Aang revealed himself to be the Avatar since the island was named after one of his previous lives, _Avatar Kyoshi._ "

Severus nodded as he sat the cup back down on the table, processing the information.

"Suki was worried that she had hit you too hard when you didn't awaken the previous night-"

"Wait, _previous night_?!" Severus eyes lit up. "You mean I've been out for more than twenty-four hours?"

Katara nodded, "It had me and the others worried. When you didn't wake up, everyone began to think that Suki may have struck you the wrong way."

"Suki?"

Surprised that he switched the focus of the conversation so quickly, she shook her head and answered, "Suki is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors... and also the one who took you out, right after you tried to attack one of her warriors."

" _They_ attacked first!" he got up and approached the window, breathing in the cool air.

"Anyway, Aang is _enjoying_ his popularity right now, and Sokka is currently trying to get over his _wounded ego._ "

He raised an eyebrow.

Katara rolled her eyes, almost chuckling, "He's upset that a couple of girls attacked and took him prisoner. He's already embarrassed himself today when he tried to beat Suki during one of her training exercises with her warriors."

Severus almost chuckled at that, but he made sure to suppress it, "Your brother is a real sexist."

Katara laughed, "Yeah, he is." She paused, something Severus took notice of. "Um, Alex, there's something that I need to tell you. It's going to sound weird, but then again, you're all about weird, so maybe you might understand it."

He frowned, " _Okay_..."

The Water Tribe girl took a small deep breathe, "While you were... _asleep_ , I've noticed something about your... _body_."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her again, "What about my body?"

She then pushed her hair back, despite that it was already behind her ear, acting shy, "Well, it's just that... your nose used to be crooked. But now, it's straight and at a normal size. Also, your hair appears to have lost its _oily_ style now. And... there's more."

"Like what?" he felt the need to look himself in a mirror to see if what she was saying was true.

"I've noticed that you don't eat a lot and that your body is a little too thin," she stopped herself, feeling even more nervous and shy about what she was going to say next. "I helped the medicine lady take off your robes last night, so I could wash them. That was when I noticed your body had changed. Your muscles are growing and you're gaining the proper fat your body needs. Even the scars seem to be fading, though not much. I've never seen anything like it."

Struggling to keep himself from running out of the room and find a mirror or pot of water to see his reflection, Severus leaned back against the sheets and stared up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what she was telling him. It was driving him crazy with all of the questions that kept piling up.

He noticed the clothes he was currently wearing for the first time, taking a liking to the style that the _Kyoshi Islanders_ had. He slowly rose from his bed and approached the window.

"Alex?" Katara noticed how he was deep in thought. "I know that we haven't known each other that well, but I'm worried about you. With the things that you can do, your body _healing_ itself, and also the fact that you barely talk about... well... _anything_ , I don't know how to help you."

Severus's eyes closed as he remembered a very familiar voice once said something similar, ' _Let me help you, Sev. Let me in.'_

Shaking his head, he turned towards her, "There's nothing you can do.. _._ Just leave me alone."

"But you can talk to me," she pressed on, quickly walking forward to take his hand, which he immediately removed from her reach, glaring at her. "Alex, please! I heard you talking in your sleep, and while I didn't understand everything you've said, I know enough that things are not so great back your home. You also kept mentioning your... _parents_."

That struck a nerve right in its center, feeling his anger rise within him as he clutched both of hands. He wanted to yell at her, to tell her not to get in his business. And that he needed no help from anyone! But then a memory came flowing right back into his mind, vanquishing those feelings almost immediately.

 _'I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!'_

Tears threatened to break from his eyelids as he turned away from her, feeling himself on the verge of losing control.

" _Katara_!" he brought up his _Occlumency_ walls to clear his mind, making his tone emotionless. "Just leave! Now!"

Katara lowered her head in disappointment and walked out of the room, the curtains swishing around as she left.

Once he knew she was gone, Severus fell to his knees and stared into the space before him, sorting through his emotions and keeping them deep within himself. After a long while, he sighed and got up, lying back down on the bed as he blew out the candle. Despite that there was still light outside, he could feel a desire for rest from his body and mind.

Closing his eyes, Severus fell right to sleep, despite knowing what was waiting for him in the world of dreams.

* * *

Katara entered the room that she was sharing with Aang and Sokka, both of whom immediately took notice of her presence.

"How is he?" Aang asked.

Katara sighed, "Well, he's alright, _physically_..."

"What do you mean?" Sokka frowned.

Katara rubbed the side of her arm and sat down on a small bed.

"He was having a nightmare, saying random words and moaning, almost as if he was reliving a painful experience. Uh, guys, I don't know what to do or how to help him! Every time I try to get close, he pushes me away."

"Katara, we can't help him if he doesn't want us to," said Sokka. "And besides, are you sure this isn't your _need to know_ about his past guiding your attempt to _help him_."

Katara glared at him before resuming a sad expression again, "It's part of the reason, but even then I truly do want to help him. I can see this... _pain..._ that lies within his eyes. He barely smiles, he barely enjoys anything, and he always seems to keep his emotions under lock and key, except when his anger is involved sometimes. It makes me wonder what kind of life he has lived to make him resort to... _this._ "

Aang nodded, "I understand what you mean, Katara, but Sokka is right. We can't help him if he won't let us."

"Yeah, just give it time, sis."

Although doubtful, Katara slowly nodded and lied back onto the bed, slowly falling to sleep as her mind continued to wonder about _Alexander_. So many questions she had about him, and also this desire to uncover his past. She always did love a good mystery, especially the ones from the stories that Gran-Gran always told her.

* * *

Aboard his ship, Prince Zuko was preparing for supper with his Uncle Iroh, waiting for his cook to show up with their meal.

After his duel with Commander Zhao, the Fire Prince was more determined than ever to capture the Avatar, and also his mysterious friend... _Alexander_! But any effort was wasted, as the two of them were hard to track.

Finally, the cook arrived back with their meal, along with important _news_ that he had heard from the docks of the harbor they were currently at.

"Sir, I've been told that the Avatar is currently on Kyoshi Island," he reported, setting the food down on the table.

Zuko immediately pushed himself up from his seat, "The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island?! Uncle, ready the Rhinos! If the Avatar is on the island, then that means that _Alexander_ is there as well! And they're not getting away from me this time!"

"Are you going to finish that?" Iroh pointed down towards the seafood, which was still steaming warm from the ovens.

Zuko turned around as he was about to exit the dining chambers and grabbed the plate, "I was going to save it for later!"

Iroh made a face of disappointment and crossed his arms.

* * *

Severus stood alongside a small creek, looking directly into the still settled water. Getting a clear and closer look at himself at the reflection of the surface, he was relieved that the _changes_ Katara spoke of were nothing major. His nose was indeed no longer crooked, his hair was no longer oily and his facial structure seemed to have a more appeal.

Lifting his reformed Hogwarts robes, he analyzed his stomach and upper chest. Noting that he was slowly gaining some weight and muscle, no longer having a skinny look to him, despite how little he had eaten in the last few days of arriving in this world. It gave him a good outline, even the muscles that developed have helped with providing a nice look to him. He also couldn't help notice some early stages of abs forming as well.

But what shocked him the most was that any trace of his old wounds was slowly fading, though they were clearly still visible.

While he was happy that the changes were working to his advantage, there was a part of him that wondered how this was possible. He never heard of magic working on a level like this before, even _Accidental Magic_ didn't work like this, and he was way beyond that now.

Sensing the presence of someone approaching him, Severus dropped his robes and readied his hands within the cover of his sleeves, getting his feet in a stance. He immediately wished he had his wand with him, angry that he was so stupid to leave it back with Appa. Slowly turning, he came face to face with a girl who was dressed in the Kyoshi Warrior outfit, including the makeup as well.

"Uh, hi," she said to him, her voice betraying signs of being nervous.

Severus studied her, prepared to fight if he had to, though he doubted it.

"Um, look, I just wanted to see that you were okay, and also to say sorry about the other day... when I knocked you out."

Severus realized who she was, "You must be Suki."

Suki blushed, "You're... you're not angry about that?"

He showed no emotion, though he did feel a little angry, but more towards himself for how rusty he was, "No, not at you, anyway."

The Kyoshi Warrior studied him, "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but how did you do that?"

Severus moaned, "Magic."

Suki chuckled, "Haha, very funny."

"I'm not laughing."

Although determined to get the answers to her questions, Suki sighed and nodded, "Alright, I'll respect your privacy... _for now_. But can you at least tell me your name? Katara said that Alex was only your nickname."

Severus watched her for a few moments before answering, " _Alexander._ "

The Kyoshi Leader nodded again and bowed, "Thank you, Alexander. But don't think that this conversation is over. I mean to get answers about you."

He watched as she hurried away, disappearing into the trees. Sighing, Severus turned his attention back to the water and took another look at himself, still unable to get used to the changes that were developing so fast.

Remembering how weak his wandless magic skills currently were, he quickly came to the conclusion that he needed to start training himself in the ways of magic once again. Except this time, he was forced to do so without a professor or a mentor to guide him. This time, he was going to have to do it all on his own.

Finding a small, remote area, one that would be fit for training, Severus disrobed. Only keeping the bottom part on, which was only one layer that covered everything from his hips to his ankles, forced to tie up the loose ends that would slow him down. This way, he was more free to perform his training.

Beginning with the basics, he slowly began performing low-level magic with his hands, working his way up from the bottom. Although frustrated that he had to start all over again, he was content that because of his knowledge and experience from the last five years of learning at Hogwarts, he would be able to progress much faster.

For the next several hours, he kept going at it, feeling the sweat rolling down his chest, arms, shoulders, and face. He even felt his muscles were beginning to ach. Pressing on, he could feel a wave of tiredness washing over him, almost as if he was being drained. Although he felt the need to call it quits, he continued through another hour, motivated by the frustrated with himself and the situation he was in.

But even for him, Severus watched in awe at the magic he was performing with only his hands. It made him imagine what he would be able to do when he reached the higher levels of magic. But he still couldn't help but question how and why he was able to do this so easily. So many questions that he had, which were only the tip of the iceberg.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar in the distance, making him stop. Turning towards the direction it came from, he saw dark smoke in the distance and instantly knew that something was wrong. Rushing to redress in his robes again, he made his way back towards the village.

Once arriving, he hid behind the cover of a building, slightly poking his head out to see what was going on.

"Come out, Avatar!" an angry voice demanded. "Including you too, _Alexander_! Both of you can't hide from me forever!"

At the entrance of the village, the Fire Prince Zuko and a few of his men were riding large rhinos from the looks like, fully armored and ready for a fight. When no one answered his call, the Prince ordered his men to search the village, beginning their entry of settlement.

Looking up at the rooftops, Severus saw the Kyoshi Warriors silently stalking their attackers from above, admiring their tactics and intelligence to be so stealthy. He watched as the Warriors began their attack, taking out the Fire Nation soldiers from the top of their rhinos, making their way towards the leader in the back.

Suki made the first strike against Zuko, but was hit by the tail of the rhino, sent sliding across the snow. Seeing she was defenseless, the Fire Prince sent a fireball at her, only to be deflected by Sokka's metal fan, who was dressed in the same outfit as the Warriors were wearing. The sight almost made Severus chuckle at him.

One of the Warriors took down Zuko from his rhino, allowing for Suki and Sokka to join, boxing him in.

Seeing that some of the Fire Nation soldiers were getting back up, Severus abandoned his hiding spot and immediately began shooting spells at them from his fists, focusing on the low-level spells for right now. One by one, each soldier went down, never missing a target, although he knew the effects of his magic would wear off soon enough, due to his inexperience of wandless magic.

Something caught his attention as he took down the last soldier and turned to find that Zuko had take out Sokka, Suki and the other Kyoshi Warrior. The two met one another' eyes, making them still.

They stared each other down, one filled with anger and hatred towards the other.

"You may have bested me in our first encounter, _Alexander_!" Zuko spat at him, getting into a stance. "But that was when I was out of focus, under the control of anger, and caught by the element of surprise. Now you will face me at my most focused and strongest. These little girls can't save you or the Avatar!"

Severus narrowed his eyebrows at him, getting into a stance as well.

"Hey, over here!" came a voice from the side of Zuko, who turned to find the Aang just a couple of feet away.

Zuko sighed, "Finally!"

Sending a series of fireballs towards him, which the Airbender dodged and jumped into the air, using the air to quickly glide next to him.

Seeing his chance, Severus made his strike against the Fire Prince, only for him to dodge it as he battled the Airbender as well. He was caught off guard as the Prince grabbed a spear from the ground and threw it towards him. Although managing to dodge it, he felt the steel cut into his flesh, blood rolling down his arm as he attempted to cover it with his other hand. But he had very little time to tend to his wound as the Fire Nation soldiers began to get back up, forcing him to turn his attention towards them.

Feeling tired and drained, he managed to put some of them back down before he heard a loud cry from behind, turning to see Zuko being _airbended_ into the wooden wall of a building and Aang taking off on his glider.

 _Gee, no worries for the guy with the bleeding arm, just leave him behind!_

He was quickly brought out of his thoughts as Zuko rose from the debris and smoke of the building he was sent through, turning his angry aggressiveness towards Severus. Engulfing his hands with flames, he ran at him, dodging every spell sent his way.

Severus was impressed and terrified of this teenager.

 _Okay, even I have to admit that he's good._

Just as they were finally within a couple feet of each other, the two of them fought. Magic against fire. Dodging attack after attack. Although Severus was a little fast, Zuko was much faster and much more experienced in the ways of combat. It made him realize just how lucky he was back during their first encounter on the ship a few days ago. He saw that he was truly outmatched by the Firebender and was getting a good look at how powerful he was.

Before he knew it, Zuko saw an opening and blasted him in the chest with a fireball, feeling the heat burn his skin, but not too much to cause damage. He fell against the ground, feeling more tired and drained than ever, almost as if his own body was losing steam. His robes were burnt, red marks that formed small holes. There was even a red scar on his chest.

Zuko stared down on him with victory in his eyes, "My father will welcome me back once I present you and the Avatar to him. Take him away!"

Two of the Fire Nation soldiers walked forward and took him by the shoulders, beginning to drag him back to the ship.

Once the Fire Prince had turned his back on him, Severus moaned as he used what was left of his strength to break free from his captors and simultaneously cast two spells at the same time, hitting both of them. Quickly forcing himself up, he ran, dodging attacks from Zuko, who yelled out in anger. Thankfully, the Kyoshi Warriors had the attention of the soldiers now, allowing him to rush to safety, knowing that the Fire Prince was going to have trouble of his own.

Feeling himself begin to lose consciousness again, he quickly found Appa after turning a corner, making his way towards the bison as Aang, Katara and Sokka, who was still dressed in a Kyoshi Warrior outfit, urged him to get on. Even Momo was jumping up and down, seemingly trying to encourage him to hurry up as well.

The moment he had climbed up the tail of the creature and fell to his side on the saddle, Aang cried out _'Yip Yip!'_ and they were suddenly in the sky, flying away.

He felt Katara rush to his side, eyes filled with worry, "He's bleeding!"

"Look after him, there's something I need to do," said Aang, who dived off the head of the bison, which shocked the Slytherin for a moment.

"Aang, what are you doing?!" Katara cried, rushing over towards the edge of the saddle, along with Sokka and Momo.

Beginning to lose consciousness again, Severus thought he heard a loud roar, similar to the one he heard earlier, and saw the Airbender climb back onto the saddle a few moments later.

"I know, I know, that was stupid and dangerous," said Aang.

"Yes, it was," Katara smiled and embraced him, which earned a triumphant smile from the Airbender, who seemed like he had been working hard to get that kind of affection for her.

Severus felt his eyes close and his hearing beginning to go silent, the voices getting quieter with each passing second.

"Um guys?" he heard Sokka say. "Look."

"No way!" Aang exclaimed, sounding amazed and shocked at the same time.

"His wounds couldn't have healed that fast," gasped Katara, who had panic in her voice. "How is this even possible?"

"Um, hello, _mystery boy of weirdness_! Not to mention he fell out the sky and _somehow_ survived!"

"Sokka's right, we've seen weirder from him."

"But that still doesn't answer our questions about him. Who is he? What is he? Where does he come? And... why won't... _he... tell... us...?"_

Severus's hearing gave out and he fell right back to unconsciousness again, feeling as if the surface of the saddle fell out from under him and that he was falling through a never-ending darkness. He could hear voices and see images, knowing fully well that his nightmares were returning once more.

* * *

 **Alright, so there's something I wish to get out of the way (although I may have stated this before), I will be skipping or altering episodes from the show in the near future. I don't wish for this to be a retelling of _'Avatar: The Last Airbender_ ' (although it may seem like it), but rather an emotional journey for Severus. Yes, we will get scenes with Zuko and other characters as well, but the main focus will be Severus. This story is about him during the events of the tv series and also how his influence changes a few things, including his rise to becoming a better person.**

 **Also, I'm going to be adding in new plot elements and stories, ones that I feel remain truthful to the main cannon of the series.**

 **And another thing, I highly recommend those who don't know about the tv show to go watch it before reading on, even for those who may need to be refreshed in the story and characters. The reason being is because I will be relying heavily on the tv show, and I mean _'heavily'._ Some certain scenes won't be in the story, because if they were, then they would seen as just _retellings_. And also, I'm not as good as the creators are, so I'm relying on the knowledge and memory of the fans to know what happens and what has been changed. I know that sounds lazy, but then again, this is a _'crossover section'_ on 'fanficiton', so it's expected of others to know about the source material.**

 **Message to _'Suzululu4moe'_ : 'Nice to see that you've joined in reading this fanfic as well. I hope you're enjoying _'Redemption'._ But anyway, thank you for the reviews that you've left. As the question about Lily that you asked, I can't say anything right now, or else I risk spoiling the story. So, sorry.'**

 **Message to _'Guest'_ : (Alright, not sure if you're the same ' _Guest'_ as before or some new person, but on with the message) - I deeply apologize for my portrayal of Zuko in Chapter 4, it was not my intention of making him appear weak or stupid. While this excuse may not convince you of how Severus managed to trick him, the scene was supposed to represent that Severus could be smart and that Zuko can have his anger problems (since this is back when he was younger and at the start of the series), a way to form a rivalry between the two. And yes, you are right about Severus's description, but that's what was supposed to throw Zuko off guard a little bit, giving him the element of surprise. And yes, you are right that Zuko would have burnt him alive for what he said, on that I will give you. In all honesty, it was just supposed to be a badass moment for Severus. But I hope this chapter helped make up for that. Once again, I apologize, it wasn't my intention to portray Zuko in the light you saw him in (as he is one of my favorite characters too).**

 **Okay, well, I'm heading to bed now. Hope you guys enjoyed reading, and I'll see you in Chapter 8! ;)**


	8. Survival & Fear

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Okay, I am so sorry for the long update. I didn't mean for it to take this long. Things got busy once the holiday season started, not to mention work was involved with that as well. However, when the holiday season ended, I was so tired from all of the craziness that I needed a break from everything. But then, once I got my mojo back, I ended up thinking about the future of the story and where it was heading. So, I took my time mapping out future chapters and potential story-arcs. And that's why I haven't updated in so long.**

 **For those who are wondering when I'll be getting back to ' _Redemption_ ', I can promise you that I am continuing that story as well. I'm just working through some plot points and character development decisions. Apologizes for the long wait on that one too.**

 **Oh, yeah, I should mention that I did do rewrites on two chapters before I posted this chapter. During the month of January, I rewrote Chapters 1 & 6\. For Chapter 1, I wasn't satisfied with I originally wrote, so I added in some new scenes. And as for Chapter 6, I decided to erase the 'promise' (Lol, the 'promise', get it? Ahem, anyway) that Severus made to Aang and made it a more 'quiet' moment. Reason being is because it felt out of place and out of character for Severus to do, not to mention way too early in terms of character development. Again, this is just an updated message for those who have been with this story before mid-January, everyone else will be fine.**

 **Anyway, I'm happy that you guys are enjoying the story so far. Thank you once again for the amazing reviews and for following.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight:**

 **Survival & Fear**

* * *

 _A six-year-old Severus Snape walked with his mother on the sidewalk, holding her hand as they entered an ice scream shop together. Ordering a single vanilla ice scream cone to share, they sat at a table, taking turns eating it._

 _Sitting in her lap, he listened to her tell stories about Hogwarts and her time as a Slytherin student, enjoying the smile on her face as she lost herself in her memories. It was in these moments that little Severus loved being with his mother. He always wondered why she was so 'reserved', even questioning why she and father argued._

 _He had began noticing red, purple marks on her arms in the last few months, despite that she tried so hard to keep them hidden._

 _The one thing that always scared him was his father voice when he yelled. Especially at him. He had an idea that the cause was that weird liquid, glass bottled stuff that he always saw Tobias with. But now he was always seeing his father with a bottle just like it. And to make matters worse, his yelling had increased and had taken to hitting his own wife._

 _He could remember the awful sounds of screaming, crying and pleading from his parents' bedroom, no matter where he was. Inside or outside the house._

 _As they enjoyed the last bits of the ice scream, he squirmed in his mother's arms as she wiped his mouth clean with a napkin, making him giggle as if it was a game._

 _Exiting the ice scream shop, they began their journey home. Each step made their smiles and previous enjoyment disappear. Once reaching the front door, they went inside their home of Spinner's End, trying to be as quiet as possible, in hopes that Tobias wouldn't hear them._

 _"Where the hell have you been, woman?!" came the one voice that made Severus tremble with fear, eyes growing wide._

 _Eileen pulled him to the door and whispered into his ear, "Run for the park, sweetheart. Stay there for a few hours and then come home before it gets too dark. Run, now!"_

 _Hearing the stumbling footsteps of his father from the living room, Severus nodded and exited the house. However, he stopped once he was outside and hid behind the door as it close, pressing his ear up against it._

 _"I asked you a question!" Tobias muffled voice yelled. "Where have you been? And where is my son?"_

 _Eileen struggled to answer, "I was out... running errands... Severus's... at the park."_

 _The mocking laugh from Tobias echoed off the wood of the door._

 _"You think I don't know that you took money from wallet while I was asleep. You went out and bought something with my hard-working cash, didn't you!"_

 _"Tobias... I swear-"_

 _There was a sound that Severus couldn't make out, but he instantly recognized another sound of his mother's cries. Unable to stay put, he rushed into the house and found his mother holding the side of her cheek. Tobias was over her, taking a drink from the weird liquid bottle stuff._

 _Without even realizing it, Severus's attention was on the bottle alone, focusing purely on it, anger rising up within him._ _He hated that liquid bottle for everything that had happened. Wishing it had no part in his family's life, especially the way it made his father treat his mother._

 _He wanted it gone, never to be seen again._

 _Then, the bottle shattered in Tobias's hands, making the drunk stumble backwards and fall on his bum. He was dumbstruck as to what had happened, staring at his hands, trying to process everything. Looking up, his eyes widened at the sight of his son, a realization slowly dawning on him in his drunken state._

 _Even Eileen was staring at her son with a very worried expression, fear displaying deep within her eyes._

 _Severus was so lost in his frozen state of mind that he didn't hear the pleading cries of his mother, despite how close he was to her. He thought he could hear yelling, see movement, but he failed to process or understand what was happening._

 _The voices were like echoes down a tunnel._

 _"My boy! No, no, no! Not my boy!"_

 _"Tobias, please! It wasn't him-"_

 _"One- one of you?! My son is an abomination... a mistake... like... you?!"_

 _"Tobias! It was me who shattered the bottle, not him! Severus can't perform magic like I can!"_

 _"You...! You made him like this! The one normal thing in my life and you took that away! And such a waste of beer!"_

 _A series of footsteps could be heard, but Severus couldn't process what they meant._

 _"Severus, honey! Run! No, Tobias, don't touch him!"_

 _Suddenly, he felt something grab him by his upper arm and squeeze, sending a wave of pain through him. Snapping out of his trance, he met the eyes of his father, who was staring back at him with deep hatred. The very sight made a chill rush through him, his body beginning to shake. Before he knew it, he was being dragged into the living room._

 _Thrown to the floor, Severus could hear the pleas of his mother from afar, making him more afraid. Never before had his father touched him like that. He was scared of what he might do next, despite that his arm was aching in pain. Then he felt something strike the side of his chest and cried, pain rushing throughout his body._

 _His little body was shaking and his eyes were closed, afraid to look at his tormentor. He felt the same blow to his chest again, unable to control the screaming he unleashed from his mouth. He began using his arms to try and protect himself._

 _"So, you and this little shit think you can steal my money, break my beer bottles, and lie to me?!" he heard Tobias shout. "Well, let this be a warning not to do so again! If I so much even see a single step out of line, I will pound you back into it!"_

 _The next strike made Severus curl into a ball, his screams filling the house as they got louder. For a second, he could have sworn the following blows shook the floor beneath him._

 _But then he heard a voice cry out from a far distance, "Alex, wake up!"_

 _A bright light engulfed him and he was met with blue eyes staring down at him._

* * *

Acting on instinct, his hand reached for his wand and he grabbed ahold of the figure above him, bringing the wand into the throat of his intruder. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw the terrified face of Katara.

Instantly feeling guilty of his actions, he let go of her and got up, wand ready in hand.

"Apologizes, Katara," he refused to look her in the eye. "Bad dream."

Behind Katara, both Sokka and Aang stared at him with uncertainty.

"Um, okay... but that wasn't why I woke you," she replied back, slowly regaining herself as she rubbed her neck. "There's something wrong."

"Like wha-"

He felt the same shake on the ground from his dream, echoing through the forest they were in.

Appa made a grunt as he stood up, anticipating danger.

"It's coming from over there!" Aang pointed towards the direction the sound came from and began running, promoting Katara and Severus to follow.

"Shouldn't we run _away_ from huge booms, not _toward_ them?" Sokka cried out from behind, despite quickly joining them, along with Momo.

Reaching a large log, they saw someone ahead, and hid behind it. Looking up from their hiding spot, they saw a boy moving giant boulders with his hands. The sight made Severus watch in awe at the boy, trying to process what he was seeing.

"An Earthbender!" Katara exclaimed, watching in awe as well.

"Lets go meet him," said Aang.

Severus shook his head, trying to hold in his sneer at how reckless the Airbender was.

"He looks dangerous," Sokka stared at the Earthbender with vigilance, "So we better approach cautiously."

Severus couldn't help but nod in agreement with him, glad that someone had a _brain_ for once.

"Hello there!" yelled out Katara, who had ran ahead of them and was now out in the open. "I'm Katara! What's your name?"

Severus literally slapped himself on the forehead and groaned into his hand.

 _Stupid, silly girl! Definitely classifying you as a Gryffindor!_

The Earthbender turned towards Katara with a surprised look on his face, dropping a boulder he was currently trying to move with his power. What Severus didn't expect to see was fear in the boy's expression, almost as if he didn't want to be seen by anyone. Not a second later, the boy was running away from them, heading down the empty creek. Before disappearing, he jumped up and used his hands to cause a large pile of rocks to fall behind him.

Getting up from the log, they approached Katara, who was saddened by the boy's, apparent, rejection.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang called out, making Severus roll his eyes.

"I just wanted to say hi," said Katara.

"Hey, that guy's got to be running somewhere. Maybe we're near a village. And I bet that village has a market."

"Which means no nuts for dinner!" exclaimed Katara, who began running with Aang back to Appa.

"Hey! I worked hard to get those nuts!" defended Sokka, only to sigh when Momo made a purring noise while flying over him. "Yeah, I hate them, too."

Severus rolled his eyes as he began walking with him back to Appa.

* * *

Once repacking their stuff onto Appa, they immediately began flying around the woods, hoping to find the village that the boy belonged to. Since they were in unknown parts now, they kept themselves hidden from sight, keeping to just above the trees.

Everyone was excited to reach civilization once again, having been flying for days. For Severus, he was just happy that they had reached the shores of the Earth Kingdom, having grown sick of the open ocean and the islands.

Ever since their encounter with Prince Zuko on Kyoshi Island, the whole group were convinced to directly make their way to the Earth Kingdom. Following the coastlines up North, which would lead them to the Northern Water Tribe. It meant progress, which he believed was seriously lacking from their journey. But that didn't mean that Aang was done with his _visits_ just yet, making Severus upset with him.

Once they had made it to the coastlines, Aang made course for a city known as Omashu, where he wanted to ride a cart down what he described as _"the world's greatest super slide"_. While Katara and Sokka were interested in going to see the city, Severus decided to stay behind with Appa. Despite he had an interest in seeing what an Earth Kingdom city looked like, he needed to have some time to himself, especially after the events at Kyoshi Island.

Needing a way into the city without being spotted, Aang was disguised as an old man, using hay for hair and his staff as a walking stick, hoping it would be enough to convince the guards to let them in. Deciding to bring Momo along, which Severus really questioned, they hid him within the hay on Aang's head. Meanwhile, both Sokka and Katara would be passed off as his grandkids, going by the last name, _Pippenpadlopsicopolos_.

The name almost made Severus laugh. _Almost._

Once they had left for the city, Severus was more than happy to be alone with his thoughts. He sat right next to Appa, his back against the bison's fur.

Since awakening from his fight with Zuko, Severus was startled to learn from Katara that his wounds from the fight had healed almost instantaneously. He literally used his wand to check himself over, trying to understand everything that was happening to him. Being able to do wandless magic, even wordless, was something he was getting used to, especially when his own body was already making changes by itself. But now he was discovering that he had super-healing.

Never before had he heard of anything like this before, a wizard who could heal without the use of magical spells. It was something out of those superhero comics that Muggles loved to read. And it was driving him crazy in trying to understand how he was able to do all of this. The only logical explanation he seemed to come to was that his magic seemed to be much stronger in this world, than in his own. If anything, it seemed his magic was actually protecting him, even working with him.

But he always came back to same old question, _how_? How was this possible for him? And to his dismay, that was only one of the million questions that have been raised since coming to this world.

Needing something to do, Severus began training with his wandless magic again. While he wanted to move onto wordless magic, he decided to take it slowly and work his way up from there. As much as he hated to admit it, he had all the time in the _world_ at the moment. For hours he focused on his training, becoming more bolder and confident in his abilities, despite knowing he still had more training to do.

By the time the sun began to set, Severus went on down to a nearby river and cleaned himself up, including his clothes.

Seeing that Appa was thirsty, he used his wand to levitate some water towards him, who accepted it would a happy grunt. Meeting the bison's eyes, they stared at each other, exchanging a silent moment between the two of them.

Severus nodded at the animal, "Hagrid would have loved you."

Sitting next to the bison, he started to become worried as nighttime approached, fearing the worst once a few more hours passed. Not wanting to do anything reckless, he decided to wait till the next day. Lying back against the fur of the sleeping animal, he stared up at the sky, enjoying the sight of so many beautiful stars.

The next day didn't help, as Severus began to believe that the others had been kidnapped and/or captured, promoting him to question what he should do next. If they had been captured, then it meant that it was only a matter of time before the enemy found him and Appa too. So he had two options, leave or rescue him.

His dark Slytherin side demanded of him to leave with Appa and continue his mission to find a way back home. However, he had a feeling that Appa wouldn't leave without Aang, so it would just be him. But there was another _side_ that told him he couldn't leave Aang, Katara, Sokka or Momo behind. That he couldn't leave them to their fates after everything they did for him. It wasn't out of a life debt, although he wouldn't be surprised if he did owe them, but because it was the right thing to do.

Hating himself for even thinking about it, he concluded that he needed to find a way into the city and rescue them. All without risking his capture too.

When the sun began to set for the evening, Severus decided to make his way to the city of Omashu, fully believing that his friends were indeed captured. But before he could leave the campsite, he was surprised and relieved to find Aang, Sokka and Katara, along with Momo, making their way back.

When asking them what happened, they explained that they had gotten themselves arrested for destroying a merchant's cabbages, right after riding a brick cart and causing disruption to a chute mailing cart system. Including _other_ damages. But were cleared of all charges by Omashu's king, Bumi. However, before they could leave, Aang was forced to complete three trials and figure out the King's name, who turned out to be Aang's old friend from a hundred years before.

Severus almost didn't believe their story, until he went back with them to Omashu and met King Bumi himself. Even for him the old king was way too crazy, despite that he liked his philosophy of thinking _outside the box_. After spending one more day in Omashu, they then bid their goodbyes and left, heading further up the coast.

Since then, they had trouble finding any sort of civilization, until they saw the mysterious boy in the woods.

Finding a nearby village, they landed Appa in an area to conceal him and headed into the settlement, this time leaving Momo behind as well.

While Aang and Sokka messed around, Severus and Katara bought what food they could for the journey ahead.

Just as they were all done, Katara grabbed Severus and pointed towards a shop, seeing a boy go on in.

"It's him!" the Waterbender exclaimed. "We should go talk to him!"

"Katara, wait!" he caught her elbow, making her stop. "Best to leave him be. We're _wanted_ , remember? Lets just take our supplies back to Appa and get a move on, while daytime still lasts."

Katara waved him off and removed her arm from his reach, "It'll be fine, Alex. I highly doubt a young boy would get us arrested."

Severus shook his head and followed her into the store, signalling for Sokka and Aang to do the same. Entering the building, they heard the boy's mother scowling him about his chores.

"Hey, you're that kid," Katara spoke, getting the boy's attention, who turned around with worry in his eyes. "Why did you run away before?"

"Uh... you have me confused with some other kid," replied the Earthbender, stubbornly.

"No, she doesn't," Aang walked forward. "We saw you Earthbending."

The boy and his mother gasped, eyes widening in fear. It was a reaction that Severus was all too familiar with. Without warning, the woman rushed to shut the window and front door, then turning to her son with an expression of anger and worry.

"They saw you doing _what_?!"

Severus's eyes widened, understanding completely what was going on.

"They're crazy, mom," the boy desperately looked for a way out of his situation. "I mean, look at how they're dressed. Especially _him_."

Severus raised an eyebrow at him before rolling his eyes at the sight of the others, who were looking down at their own clothes because of his remark.

"You know how dangerous that is. You know what would happen if they caught you Earthbending."

Severus looked at Katara, getting her attention as he used his head to motion towards the door. He had the urge to leave the village before something unexpected happened.

"Open up!"

Everyone almost jumped at the sound of banging on the door, making Sokka take a peak out the window to see who it was. Eyes widening, he turned back to them all and whispered, "Fire Nation! Act natural!"

As everyone pretended to be ordinary guests of the store, which Severus found to be amusing how over-the-top they were, the woman opened the door and a Fire Nation soldier stepped on through, eyeing everyone.

"What do you want?" the woman demanded, irritated at the soldier's presence. "I've already paid you this week."

The soldier turned to the woman, "The tax just doubled. We wouldn't want an accident, would we?" He began forming a ball of fire in his hands, half-smirking. "Fire is sometimes so hard to control." He allowed it to disappear, his smile forming on both sides of his face.

The woman looked down in defeat, reminding Severus of the look his mother used to make when it came to his father. She went to her shop desk and took out a box, opening it to give the soldier some coins. Taking a second to count what he had, he separated a few coins and allowed them to fall from his hand, reasoning that they were no use to him. As he walked out of the store, everyone was glaring at him.

"Nice guy," said Sokka, sarcastically. "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"

"Five years," replied the woman, picking up the coins from the floor. "Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships. The mountains and forest are used as resources for the war."

"They're thugs!" the boy cried out in anger. "They steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it!"

"Quiet, Haru!" the woman snapped at him. "Don't talk like that!"

Severus took note of the boy's name, now knowing what to call him.

"But Haru's an Earthbender," stated Katara. "He can help."

"Earthbending is forbidden," the woman said with a hard voice. "It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must _never_ use his abilities."

Severus felt a wave of anger begin to arise within him when he heard those words reach his ears. Telling someone like Haru not to use their abilities was like telling someone not to breathe. Or even himself not to use magic.

"How can you say that?" Katara demanded, horrified at what she was hearing. "Haru has a gift. Asking him not to Earthbend is like asking me not to Waterbend. It's a part of who we are."

"You don't understand," the woman said, bitterly.

Severus had to agree with the woman's words. None of them understood something like this. Even him.

"I understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?"

Severus felt the urge to stop her, closing his eyes at knowing what the woman would say next.

"They could take Haru away," the woman replied, her eyes showing fear and anger. "Like they took his father."

Haru's expression was one of anger as he looked away, with a sympathetic Katara looking at him. Silence went around the room, letting the moment sink in.

Seeing his chance, Severus spoke up, "Ma'am, I apologize for the trouble we've caused you. We'll be on our way."

The woman turned to look at him and replied, "Apology accepted... Mister...?"

As much as it was getting annoying, Severus knew he had to keep at using his fake name, "Alexander Blackwater, ma'am."

The woman weakly smiled, "Such a gentleman. Is there anything I can get you all, since you're already in my store?"

"Actually, can we ask a favor of you?" Katara approached her, staring at her hands, nervously. "We're looking for a place to stay-"

The woman waved her off, "Haru and I live on a small farm just outside of the village. You all can sleep in the barn."

"Actually, can a flying bison fit inside this barn?" Aang asked.

Haru nodded, looking back up, "Even a fully grown bison would be able to fit, it'll be fine."

"Great!"

"I've got a few more hours before I'll be closing up shop for the night," the woman approached her son. "Haru, why don't you show our guests to the barn and then get started on your chores, once you are done."

Haru nodded and then led them outside, following them to where they left Appa. The young Earthbender stared in awe at the bison, having only read about them. He was even more amazed by Momo, who settled on Aang's shoulder once they arrived back. They then followed Haru back to his family's home. Once getting settled inside the barn, Katara and Haru walked off together, leaving Sokka, Aang and Severus alone.

"Well, this isn't so bad," the Airbender smiled as he studied the barn, only for his mouth to drop wide open when he turned around. "Appa, no! Don't eat all the hay!"

* * *

Once nighttime fell, Severus stood outside of the barn, looking up towards the sky. Out of all of the things he had seen in this world, the stars were his most favorite sight of all. They just shined brighter than back in his home world. With the cool wind blowing against his face, he took allowed himself to enjoy the peaceful moment to himself.

Sensing the approach of someone behind him, he turned to see Katara. She walked right up next to him, watching the stars as well.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Severus nodded and looked back up, "It is."

A few seconds of silence passed.

"Alex, there's something I need to talk to you about," she sighed. "About what happened back on Kyoshi Island-"

"Katara," Severus sighed. "I'm not ready to talk about it."

"Then when are you going to be ready?" she demanded, turning to look at him. "Ever since you fell out of the sky, you've been a huge mystery to me and the others. And to add to the list, you can do extraordinary things that no one has ever been ever to do. But the biggest surprise was when you healed from wounds that can't be healed from. You've got all of these questions surrounding you and I can't even answer a single one of them."

"The reason why I can't tell you anything is because I've exposed myself too much already. The fact that you know what I can do is a big enough problem. And just to let you know, some of the questions you are asking me are ones that even I don't know the answers to."

Katara frowned, surprised, "What does that mean? How can you not have answers to questions that involve everything you can do? None of this makes any sense."

Severus felt his frustration growing, struggling to control it, "Look, all I want is to get back home and continue my-" He stopped himself, sighing as he resumed. "My point is that once I'm back home, you and the others won't ever see me again. You'll go on with your lives and I'll go on with mine. Like it or not, all of us _bonding_ isn't a good idea. It'll only lead to pain, pain that you'll wish you could never feel."

"Better to feel pain of losing someone you care for, than to live with the misery of never knowing what it feels like," she countered, stubbornly trying to prove him wrong.

Severus sneered, "Spoken like a true Gryffindor." He instantly realized his mistake, wanting to slap himself for being so stupid.

Katara frowned, confused, "What's a... _Grif-in-door_?"

Severus shook his head, "Never mind. Something you wouldn't get."

Katara opened her mouth to press on but hesitated, recognizing that she was losing a fight she couldn't win. Sighing, she decided to switch to a different subject.

"By the way, Haru saved a man with his Earthbending today," she said.

Severus looked at her with a worried expression, "What happened?"

"An old man got stuck at the entrance of a mine and was buried under rumble. Haru and I couldn't get him out with just our hands, so I convinced him to use his Earthbending to save him. And it worked!"

Severus shook his head and began to rub his forehead, sighing, "Bad mistake, Katara."

The Waterbender glared at him, almost horrified, "How can you say such a thing? Haru saved a man's life-"

"-By possibly condemning his own," he looked her in the eyes, silencing whatever she was about to say next. "Seriously, Katara, do you realize the risk you've put him in? Especially us?"

Katara's mouth hung open, unable to form coherent thoughts.

"But... we saved him... and no one was around to see us..."

"But there are so many other possibilities playing into this," he explained. "What if that old man turns him in?"

"Why would he betray the one person who saved him?" she asked, although it sounded more to herself than to him.

"Any reason is very much possible. Maybe he's biased against Earthbenders. Or maybe he's a Fire Nation sympathizer. Or maybe he'll do it out of fear. Any one of those reasons are very much possible. But what's worse is that your actions could have put us at risk too."

"Have you considered that maybe he's grateful and will be able to keep his secret?" she slowly began to regain her confidence. "You may see the worst in people, but I choose to see the best in them."

Severus sneered, being reminded of someone similar, "There's a difference between blindly believing in something good and being prepared for the worst. Maybe you're right about the old man keeping Haru's secret, but you're doing it out of belief that is what he going to do, not what he could _possibly_ do."

Anger rose in Katara's eyes, a fierce determination behind those blue eyes, "What was Haru supposed to do? Let him die?!"

Severus didn't reply, not sure of the answer himself. Saving the man was a Gryffindor's response to the situation, but one with great risk. A Slytherin's response was to not risk exposure. Surely there had to be a middle ground in all of this, a way for the man to be saved and Haru to still be safe from being discovered. But he knew that Haru and Katara weren't smart enough to think things through. Unlike him, they acted on emotions and did what they believed what was right, as opposed to being smart.

 _Why couldn't being smart and doing the right thing have a compromise?_

Katara shook her head and turned away, "Haru did the right thing, and I don't regret encouraging him to do it."

Without replying, he watched as she walked back into the barn and sighed. Turning his attention back towards the stars, he resumed enjoying the view for a little while longer. Once he began to feel tired, he silently entered the barn and fell asleep on a blanket of the a pile of hay. He watched the others sleep peacefully, sneering at Sokka's drool as it fell from his mouth.

Soon enough, he allowed his eyes to close and began to fall asleep as well.

* * *

 _The days following the first time his father ever laid a hand on him, the six-year-old body of Severus Snape was bruised and broken in all sorts of ways that he never thought possible. The pain was always there, making him sob and cry out, begging for it all to stop. He got little sleep, either because of the nightmares or because of the pain he was in._

 _Unless if he was at the park or anywhere else that wasn't his family home, he was constantly living in fear. The very thought of his father made his heart drop and tighten within him. Like as if it was being squeezed. Just his mere shadow or a glimpse of his arm from the couch was enough to make him barely able to breathe and his skin feel cold. So he did what he could to stay away from him._

 _Due to his injuries, Eileen took him to_ _St. Mungo's Hospital to be healed. Lying that he had been mugged by a homeless person, which was something that did happen every once and a while in the neighborhood of Spinner's End._

 _Since then, Severus developed a constant awareness of his surroundings when it came to his parents' home. He hid from his father wherever he could and tried to spend all of his time outside of the house. The park had become his fortress of solitude._

 _But despite his attempts to feel safe, Severus could still feel the presence of his father's shadow. His little heart was filled with fear of when it would happen again. He didn't want it to happen again. He didn't want to feel powerless or vulnerable. He didn't want to feel that pain or fear once more. He actually hoped that maybe it would stop. But deep down, he knew better._

 _Even when his mother would take him out for ice scream again, he found himself unable to enjoy those moments like he once did. The fear of what was to come always held over him, like a dark cloud that blocked out the sun. His mother would attempt to cheer him up, but then quit when she would realize it was no use. They would sit in silence and stare at the table or out the window. I_ _t continued like this until his mother suddenly stopped bringing him one day, making the excuse that it was a waste of money. But Severus understood the real reason._

 _In the years that followed, before his time of meeting Lily Evans, Severus and Eileen slowly drifted apart and only seeing each other at the house. No longer did she tuck him in for bed or tell him stories. Probably the only thing she could do for him was dinner and a simple greeting in the morning. She began spending her time in either her room or in the kitchen._

 _As for the abuse? Tobias had made it a habit to beat his wife and child for whatever reason he could find. At first, Severus had tried to protect his mother from his father's wrath, but later found such attempt was futile. Even Eileen had discovered this realization as well, since she no longer came to his aid or pleaded for her husband to stop._

 _The pain was unbearable for the first couple of months. The whipping, hitting, kicking, empty beer bottles, anything his father could use to hurt him, all left bruises and scars. His screaming would fill the household, his tears would soak the bedsheets, and his blood would paint the floors. But in the months that followed, he came to control his reactions to Tobias's abusive methods, unwilling to allow his father to feel that satisfaction of seeing him in pain._

 _It soon became a normal tradition of him to spend his time at the park. Just waiting for the day when he would go to Hogwarts, like his mother used to promise him. It was in that promise that he held onto hope that things would get better. To escape his father's cruelty._

 _But until then, he stuck to reading wizarding books that his mother gave him, finding an interest in Potions and also the Dark Arts. And it was through his research of his mother's books that he discovered the teachings of Occlumency, an ancient skill to control one's emotions. Ever since then, he dived deep into the learning of this skill, hoping to gain complete control of his emotions._

 _Years went by and Severus grew into a nine-year-old boy, becoming more reserved than ever before. Gone was the little boy who once was care-free, but rather one who was more mindful of his surroundings and in control of his very emotion. His body was filled with scars, reminders of his father's work. While he had the choice to have these scars erased, he choose to keep them, as exactly as they were._ _'Reminders'._

 _As he sat in the bushes of a tall tree one day, Severus read from his Potions book, until he heard laughing and looked up, seeing two girls playing with each other. He put his book down, admiring the little girl as she giggled, watching her red hair sway in the air._

 _Suddenly, he heard a voice cry out, echoing all around him as the girls and bushes disappeared. He could have sworn he heard the sound of a door being pushed open with great force, making him realize this was not part of the dream._

* * *

"They took him!"

Grabbing ahold of his wand, Severus threw the covers off of himself and got into a defense position, studying his surroundings. The sun was shining through the open door of the barn, Appa was sound asleep, and both Aang and Sokka were packing their supplies. He relaxed when he saw Katara at the doorway, only to feel that worry return when he saw her face.

"They took Haru away!" she exclaimed.

"What?" a shocked Aang asked, Momo landing on his shoulder.

" _Theoldmanturnedhimintothefirenation!_ " Katara failed to control herself as she spoke very fast, making her words blur together. " _Itsallmyfault! Iforcedhimintoearthbending!"_

"Katara, calm down!" Severus interrupted her, lowering his wand. "Now, tell us, what's happened?"

The Waterbender took a deep breath, "Remember what I said about Haru saving that old man with his Earthbending?"

Everyone nodded.

Tears appeared in her eyes, "Well, that same old man turned him in to the Fire Nation. Haru's mother just told me that they came for him last night and took him away." She turned to Severus, her eyes full of regret. "I'm so sorry, Alex. You were right."

Closing his eyes, Severus nodded, "We need to leave. _Now!_ "

Katara's mouth dropped in shock, "What?! We can't just leave! Haru's been taken by the Fire Nation! We need to get him back!"

"Katara," Sokka stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder, "As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Alex. It's too late to track him. He's long gone. And to make matters worse, we've also put ourselves in danger. I say that we pack up and leave as quickly as possible."

Katara pulled away from him and turned her back on them, "Well, I'm not leaving! Not until Haru's out of their hands and free!"

Severus shook his head, "And how do you mean to get him back?"

"For one, we don't need to track him," she replied, wiping away the tears. "Because the Fire Nation is going to take me directly to Haru."

"And _why_ would they do that?" Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Because they're going to arrest me for Earthbending!" she declared, head rising with determination in her eyes.

Severus nearly laughed, but managed to control himself, "I don't mean to break your spirits, Katara, but this plan of yours isn't going to work. Say that you do manage to get arrested for Earthbending, what happens _after_ they take you to whatever prison they have for Earthbenders and find Haru? Even if we free him, he'll still be hunted for what he is."

"So your answer is just to abandon him and leave?" she turned to look him in the eye. "Sokka and I didn't have to come and rescue both you and Aang, but we did it anyway."

"First off, we didn't ask you to come and rescue us!" his anger was building at her stubbornness. "And second, that was against a small scouting warship, with only two prisoners. This is an actual _prison_ , with tons of guards and more inmates. That means that the moment we make our move, we'll be sending up a signal for all of the Fire Nation to come looking for us. Unless if you've forgotten, _we're wanted_!"

"Then we leave once rescuing Haru!" she fought back. "Do whatever you guys want to do, but I'm going to rescue him! With or without your help!"

Severus sighed and shook his head, very upset with the Waterbender in front of him. But as tempted as he was to let her attempt this crazy rescue mission by herself, he found himself unable to do so.

"Alright, fine!" he growled. "Lets go rescue Haru."

Katara's face lit up as she ran forward and embraced him, only to be pushed away.

"But we're following my plan."

"And what is your plan, exactly?" Sokka raised an eyebrow at him.

* * *

A few hours later, Severus and Katara stood in the middle of a rocky field, which was right next to a small road. They waited patiently until footsteps could be heard heading their way.

"They're over here!" Sokka cried out from a distance. "I saw them Earthbending with my own two eyes!"

"Get ready," Severus nodded to Katara, who nodded back.

Readying his wand, Severus levitated two small rocks and threw them into the air, heading in the direction of the marching footsteps.

"Hey, those rocks came from over there!" Sokka declared, his over-the-top tone making him roll his eyes.

"We need to be a little more convincing," Katara whispered.

Seeing a slightly large boulder ahead of them, Severus levitated it and used a lot of his magical strength to send it flying into the air, hoping it would catch the attention of anyone nearby.

"Did you see that?" a voice that wasn't Sokka declared in the distance. "Whoever these Earthbenders are, they must be powerful!"

Hearing the marching of the footsteps getting closer, Severus whistled. From behind a pile of rocks, Aang emerged, along with Momo on his shoulders, and ran towards them, taking his wand.

"Remember, you guys have twelve hours to find Haru and get him out. We'll be right behind you," said Aang, immediately rushing right back to his hiding spot.

A few seconds later, Sokka and a small group of Fire Nation soldiers appeared. Both Severus and Katara pretended to do a pose, like as if they were about to Earthbend.

"See, I told ya!" Sokka pointed at them. "I saw them Earthbending!"

"Yeah, we heard you for the hundredth time already!" one of the guards shoved right past him. "Hey, you two!"

They turned towards the man, pretending to be surprised by their presence.

"Earthbending is against the law!" the Fire Nation soldier declared, nodding towards his men. "You're under arrest by the power of the Fire Nation!"

The rest of the guards quickly rushed to their sides and took ahold of them by their arms, making them begin to walk down the path they had come from. Looking back, they saw Sokka regroup with Aang, immediately making their way back to Haru's home to get Appa, so they could follow them.

Once reaching the village, they were bound in chains and led to the docks on a metal wagon, where a warship was waiting for them. Once they were out at sea, they soon came into view of a large prison rig, made out of complete metal.

Looking back behind them, they could spot Appa, high in the sky.

The closer they got, the more the sun began to set behind the rig, creating an orange color ahead of them. The sight was terrifying, but yet beautiful, all at the same time. The experience made them feel like they were heading for the gates of hell itself.

* * *

 **I hope you guys aren't mad at me for skipping the 'King of Omashu' episode. I did originally plan to have Severus be part of what happens in that, but it felt pointless to me. It would just be the same episode all over again, just with Severus to witness the events, and I felt bored just writing it. So, I decided to gloss over it and go directly for 'Imprisoned'. Just a fair warning, I will some times be doing this from time to time, for certain reasons.**

 **Also, I decided to leave out the scenes involving Haru and Katara from the show, because I just felt like it would be pointless to recreate them. As I've said before, I am relying heavily on people reading this fanfic to have seen the show. I did originally plan to write a sequence with them, but only one piece of dialogue would have been new and I felt that it wouldn't have done anything for the plot. For those wondering what that sequence of dialogue was, it was just Haru asking Katara who Severus/Alex was, only for her to reply that she 'doesn't really know'. Annnnd, that's it. Yeah, pretty boring.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long update guys! Hopefully I'll get back into a better rhyme of publishing chapters again. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Please review and thanks for the support! See you guys in Chapter 9! :)**


	9. Hope

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Alright guys, lets continue the insaneness of this fanfic with Chapter 9! Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine:**

 **Hope**

* * *

The moment the warship approached the rig and docked, Severus and Katara were forced to change from their original clothes to prisoner outfits.

Once dressed, they were led to the docking platform, where other new arrival prisoners were waiting. Pushed into line with them, they stared at the metal ground beneath their feet, listening to the waves below and the whispering of the guards. Despite knowing that Aang and Sokka would be waiting for them by midnight, there was a sense of dread to the place they had come to. Almost as if it was the one place where hope itself came to die.

A man in a fancy Fire Nation outfit approached them, smiling from ear to ear as he spoke, " _Earthbenders_ , it is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard. I am your warden. I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as _honored_ guests."

Severus made a mental scoff at the man's accent and choice of words, annoyed at how he insulted their intelligence.

"And I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host," he continued, walking around, proudly. You will succeed here if you simply abide-"

One of the prisoners coughed, interrupting the man's _honest_ speech. Whether if the prisoner intended to do it or not, Severus couldn't tell.

The Warden growled and sent a wave of fire towards the prisoner, purposely missing as he made him back away, afraid. Approaching the man, he glared at him with anger in his eyes, placing his hands on his hips as he scowled, "What kind of guest dishonors his host by interrupting him?"

Nodding towards one of his soldiers, the prisoner was met with the bottom of a spear that made contact with his stomach. Groaning in pain and holding his stomach, the man fell to the ground.

Sensing that Katara was able to protest, Severus touched her hand and looked into her blue eyes, sending a silent look that told her not to do anything. Though she felt the need to do something, she nodded and drew a breath, struggling to control her anger.

"Take him below!" the Warden ordered, watching as the prisoner was picked up off the ground and led away. "One week in solitary will improve his manners. Anyway, back to what I was saying, simply treat me with the courtesy I give you and we'll get _along_ famously."

Not daring to look up, Severus could feel the presence of the Warden right next to him. He could tell that he was giving Katara a stare down, one that she was most likely returning. The act made him worried, knowing that she was now on his radar.

As the Warden walked ahead of them, the guards lined them all up and made them begin walking through the rig, passing other prisoners who are working along the way. Much to their dismay, the Warden began speaking again.

"You will notice, _Earthbenders_ , that this rig is made entirely of metal. You are miles away from any rock or Earth. So, if you have any illusions about employing that brutish _savagery_ that passes for bending among you _people_ , forget them."

Though he was able to remain in control, Severus felt a surprisingly large amount of anger towards the man. The way how he talked about the prisoners' ability to perform _Earthbending_ and also how he addressed them just pressed all the wrong buttons. Though, to be fair, that wasn't a hard task when it came to him. But this was different. It felt personal. Almost as if he was being addressed.

He hated how these people were being treated as _monsters_ , just because of their ability to bend the Earth to their will. From what he had witnessed, they were nothing more than common people who were just living their lives. And the Fire Nation saw fit to make their lives miserable for not being like them.

Soon, they were led to a giant, metal door.

"So, as you can see, escape is not an opinion for you," the Warden stood in front of them, smiling. "Try to escape, you will be caught or killed. Even if you made it to the water, you'll never make it to land without a boat. It is impossible."

Surprising himself, Severus looked up and met the eyes of the Warden, glaring at him.

Taking notice of him, the Warden took note of the prisoner and glared back, "Good day." Turning to leave, he signaled the tower guards on the wall above them, walking away as a series of large metal doors opened up.

Being led through the passage way, they all found themselves in a prison yard of some kind, turning to see the metal gates lower and close with a clanking sound from each one.

Walking through the crowds of prisoners, Severus and Katara searched for Haru.

"We have a couple hours before midnight, so lets hope he's even here to begin with," he said to her.

"We'll find him," the Waterbender replied, her voice filled with hope and determination. "He has to be here."

Though skeptical, Severus hoped that she was right about that. The last thing he needed was for her to plan another prison break-in somewhere else if they came up dry.

A shocked voice caught their attention.

"Katara?"

Turning towards the owner of the voice, they saw Haru, who got up from where he was sitting.

"Haru!" Katara cried out and ran forward, embracing him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, even more surprised when he saw Severus approaching.

"We came to rescue you," she explained. "It's my fault that you were captured. I should have been more careful when I told you to save that old man. So I convinced Alex to attempt a rescue mission."

Haru stared at her with wide eyes, "So you got yourselves arrested?"

"A little bit of _fake_ Earthbending did the trick," said Severus.

"And it was the only way to find you," Katara added. "We had no idea where they had taken you. So I thought that if they arrested us for Earthbending, then they would take us directly to you."

"You two definitely got guts, I'll give you guys that," Haru smiled at them. He began walking away, waving them to follow. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet."

Leading them to a small group of prisoners who were sitting in a circle, Haru presented them to an elderly man.

"Katara, Alex, this is my father, Tyro," he then turned his attention to his father. "Dad, this is Katara, the Waterbender I told you about. And this is, Alex. Him, I did not tell you about yet."

Katara did a small bow, "It's an honor to meet you."

The old man looked the two of them over, before reaching over for a bowl of soup.

"Pleasure to meet you both," he replied. "Here, have some dinner, Katara."

Taking the bowl, Katara made an _'ew'_ sound at the sight of the soup.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Tyro weakly smiled.

Sitting down right next to him, she took a taste and swallowed, immediately making a louder ' _ew'_ sound as she her cheeks lit up red.

Tyro chuckled, "It's still pretty bad, though."

After a prisoner came to talk to Tyro about a blanket complaint problem, Katara made her move, despite knowing that Severus would disagree with her actions.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your escape plan?"

Severus frowned at her, "Katara."

"Excuse me?" Tyro raised an eyebrow.

"You know, the plan to get everyone off the rig?"

"Katara, don't-" he was cut off as she pressed on.

"What is it? Mutiny, sabotage?"

"The plan?" Tyro's expression hardened a little. "The plan is to survive, wait out this war, hope that one day some of us can get back home and forget this ever happened."

"How can you sat that?" demanded a horrified Katara. "You sound like you've already given up!"

"Katara!" Severus raised his voice a little bit, hoping to get her attention. "You need to stop this. Now!"

"No, Alex, I won't stop!" she glared at him. "I can't just sit by and watch these people be treated like this!"

"Katara, I admire your courage, and I envy your youth," Tyro replied, his voice more gentle now. "But you should listen to your friend. What you're asking is not possible, not with the state we are in. People's lives are at stake here, _real_ lives. The Warden is a ruthless man, and he won't stand for any rebellion." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry, but we're powerless."

Severus looked down at Katara, seeing the anger and shock within her eyes, but also that same determination he's come to know. It was all too familiar. He watched as she rose from where she sat with Tyro and Haru.

"We'll see about that!" she declared.

As she walked away, grabbing a pot lid and a spoon, Severus shook his head and followed her.

"Katara, wait."

She ignored him at first, until he grabbed her arm and made her stop. As their eyes met, they stared each other down. Both refusing to let the other win.

"You need to stop this," he whispered to her. "We came for Haru and we've found him. We did not come for the rest of them. If you think that a simple speech will get them to turn against their captors, you're wrong."

The Waterbender scoffed and chuckled a little, "And once again, you resort to _abandoning_ when things get too hard. Is that how things work where you come from?"

"And you obviously don't think things through, do you!" his voice hardened, anger rising within. "Last time you did something like this, it resulted in Haru getting arrested and imprisoned here. You think you can save everyone, but you don't realize that you can't always do that. Look at them, Katara! They've given up hope a long time ago." He paused. "You don't think things through! Like Aang didn't think things through when he attempted to rescue you and your Water Tribe from Zuko."

"Well, at least we don't abandon people like you do!" she fought back. "In fact, you always seem to push anyone or anything away that comes too close to you."

"It's called _survival_ , Katara."

"Well, from where I'm standing, it looks like an awful lot like _fear_ to me."

Continuing to hold his firm stare against her, Severus sighed and let go of her arm, knowing that nothing he said could stop her.

Katara got on top of a metal table and began using the spoon to hit the pot lid, getting every prisoners' attention.

"Earthbenders!" she cried out. "You don't know me, but I know of you. Every child in my Water Tribe village was rocked to sleep with stories of the brave Earth Kingdom and the courageous Earthbenders who guard its borders."

Severus looked up to the walls and saw guards rushing across the balconies, only to be stopped by the Warden, who was listening to the speech.

"Some of you may think that the Fire Nation has made you powerless. Yes, they have taken away your ability to bend. But they can't take away your courage. And it is your courage they should truly fear, because it runs deeper than any mine you've been forced to dig, any ocean that keeps you far from home. It is the strength of your hearts that make you who you are, hearts that will remain unbroken when all rock and stone has eroded away."

She raised her arm into the air.

"The time to fight back is now! I can tell you that the Avatar has returned! And not only has our long lost protector come back to save us, but there is also a new foe against Fire Nation who just might be as powerful as he is! I've met this mysterious traveler and I believe that he can help us end this terrible war with the Avatar's help!"

Severus's face lit up red as he realized what she was doing.

 _You smart, manipulative, little-_

"So remember your courage, Earthbenders! Let us fight for our freedom!"

However, despite such an inspiring speech, all the prisoners turned away and diverted their eyes to the cold steel beneath them. A quiet silence filled the air as the Waterbender stood on top of the table, heartbroken.

Severus closed his eyes and sighed.

* * *

By the time night came, all the prisoners were ordered into their quarters, which were just large, very thin buildings. As Severus laid awake on his very small blanket of a bed, he thought back to the events of that day. There was a part of him that felt bad for Katara, but he pushed those feeling to the back of his mind. He hoped that maybe she had learned something from this.

Sensing the presence of someone else, he leaned up to find Aang standing over him, a finger between his lips. Nodding at the Airbender, he silently got up and followed him outside, heading towards the edge of the rig, where Katara was waiting. Looking over the edge, they saw Sokka and Momo on the saddle of a flying Appa.

As Aang jumped on the head of the flying bison, Sokka whispered to them, "Okay, you're twelve hours are up and we need to get going. Where's Haru?"

Katara shook her head, "He won't come, not without his father. But he won't leave because of the other prisoners."

Everyone sighed.

"Alright, then lets leave," Sokka declared. "We tried to free Haru and it didn't work out. Now lets go before one of the guards finds us. We're running out of time."

Katara shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm not leaving."

Severus silently groaned to himself as he shook his head, having figured she would do this.

"I'm not giving up on these people," Katara declared.

"What do you mean, you're not leaving?" Sokka demanded, shocked by her answer.

"We can't abandon these people!" she answered. "There has to be a way to help them."

Aang and Sokka got off of Appa and got to their knees, along with Katara and Severus.

"Guys, please," she pleaded. "I know we can save them."

"Say that we do save them, what happens afterwards?" Severus tried to reason with her. "Even if they make it off of this rig, they'll be hunted by the Fire Nation for the rest of their lives. It'll be nothing but all out war for them."

"Look around you, Alex! There's already a war going on as we speak. One that has been going for over a hundred years now. I can't stand by and let the Fire Nation destroy them like this. At least this way, they'll be fighting for something more than just survival."

"I think she's right!" Aang agreed, making Severus roll his eyes at the boy. "What do you two say?"

"Well, I think you're both crazy!" Sokka shook his head, only for his eyes to widen at the sight of lights coming near them. "Last chance, we need to leave! Right now!"

Everyone turned to Severus, who closed his eyes and threw out his answer. For better or for worse.

"Alright, I'm with you, Katara," he looked into her eyes. "We'll do it your way. We're freeing these people from that Warden."

The Waterbender's face lit up as she embraced him, whispering, "Thank you."

"Oh, I hate it when you get like this," Sokka whined. "Fine! I'll help as well. But we better hide."

As everyone silently made their way back to the prison yard, Aang whispered to Appa to fly away and wait for him, while Momo flew onto his shoulder. Just as the search lights were about to find them, Aang disappeared from sight, while Appa flew off.

As the four of them hid behind crates and Momo kept a look out, they got straight to planning their attempt to free the Earthbenders. After some lame ideas from Aang, ones that made Severus want to hit him over the head for, they finally came to a plan that felt promising. Realizing that the rig was burning coal, an _Earth_ material, they came to the conclusion that the large deposit of coal at the base of the facility can be transported to the prisoners platform by vents. Aang would shut all the vents, with the exception of one, which would allow for coal to only go in one direction... right towards the location of the prisoners.

As the sun rose in the horizon, they put their plan into effect, waiting for Aang to journey through the ventilation system and shut all the vents that needed to be closed.

Preparing for the coming battle, Severus got his wand back from Sokka.

However, before they realized it, the prison security had discovered them.

"Intruders! Intruders in the prison yard!" shouted a guard from the top of the wall, signaling the alarm.

Within seconds, the large metal gates rose and a group of Fire Nation guards rushed out, quickly surrounding them. The Warden himself followed from behind.

Getting into a battle stance with Katara and Sokka by his side, the three of them prepared for a fight. Despite hearing the pleas of Tyro, who tried to defuse the situation by begging them to stand down, they remained as they were.

Just as the Warden gave his ultimatum for them to surrender, the coal from the vent that they were standing next to suddenly came erupting up and spilt all over the place. The vent cover itself was torn right off and sent flying into the air. And from the vent came Aang, landing on top of the coal as Momo settled on his shoulder.

Taking her chance, Katara climbed up the small mountain of coal and picked up a piece, holding it high into the air for everyone to see, "Here's your chance, Earthbenders! Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"

Haru tried to rush forward to join her, only to be stopped by his father. In response to this, a few Earthebending prisoners backed away, afraid to take action.

During their moment of surprise and shock, they all heard hysterical laughing, turning to see the Warden as he smiled, triumphantly.

"Foolish girl!" he declared. "You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh, but you still believe in them. How sweet." He paused, letting his words sink in. "They're a waste of your energy, little girl. They're nothing more than just a big mistake in life. The very fact that they exist proves it."

All the prisoners lowered their gaze in defeat and shame, unable to face the people who had come to rescue them or their tormentors. Even Katara had a look of defeat as well, her hand lowing as tears began to form.

Severus glared at the Warden with an expression of anger and deep hatred. His eyes were trained on the man, like a predator about to attack its prey. He kept hearing what the Warden had said at the end of his speech, replying the words over and over in his head. With each passing second, his hatred and anger grew. His face lit up, his vision filled with a mist of red, and his heart racing at a hundred miles an hour. Everything around him became none-existent to him, except for his _target._

 _A big mistake!_

 _The very fact that they exist!_

 _Mistake!_

 _Exist!_

 _'It's more of the fact that he exists-'_

Without warning, without realizing what he was doing, Severus aimed his wand and sent a stunning charm directly at the Warden, putting all of his effort into the spell. The Warden was hit in the chest and sent backwards, falling hard against the ground. Almost as if he was on autopilot, he began sending spells at the guards next, taking each one down with seconds of each other. He was moving so fast that he didn't even realize it. He was under the control of his anger so much and so concentrated on what he was doing that he didn't even notice that Aang, Katara, Sokka, Haru and even Momo had joined the fight as well.

Soon enough, the entire platform had turned into a battlefield as every single Earthbender began using the coal to fight back. It started the moment Haru had joined the fight, which led to Tyro and his friends taking a stand as well. And since Tyro was well respected by the prisoners, it motivated them to do the same. Within seconds, the only ones who weren't participating were the guards who were unconscious.

But none of this was noticed by Severus, who was so fueled by his rage and anger that he had become an unstoppable force for the moment. His entire face was red and hard, making everyone else who was at the pointy end of his wand afraid. Some even ran in fear of him, only to be taken down seconds later. His only mission was to make every single Fire Nation guard pay for their actions against the very people they deemed _mistakes_.

By the time his anger started to cool, he could hear Aang yelling for him.

"Alex! Make way towards the warships! We're leaving this place!"

Nodding, despite not knowing where the Airbender was, he headed straight for ships and boarded. After finding Katara, Haru and Tyro, the ships that held all of the prisoners set sail, leaving the rig behind. Everyone cheered as they witnessed the entire facility begin to smoke from the destruction, despite that it still managed to stay afloat.

The moment they were far enough away, Severus allowed for himself to relax and let down his guard, sitting on the floor to take a rest. As his senses started to return, he could feel eyes on him, looking up to see the Earthbending prisoners staring at him. Some were amazed, some were scared, and others were unsure. It took him a few minutes to realize that he had just revealed his magical abilities in front of them. While he was upset at himself for being so reckless, he was so tired from the ordeal that he couldn't muster the strength to be mad at the moment.

Once he had his rest, he found his old Hogwarts robes in the holding cells of the ship, surprised that they so happened to be on the first warship he choose to board. After dressing, he went to meet with Katara, Aang and Sokka, convincing them that they needed to get a move on. While Aang called for Appa and boarded the bison with both Sokka and Severus, Katara stayed on the warship for the time being, saying her goodbyes to Haru and Tyro.

As the three of them took a final look at the prison, Haru approached her.

"I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us."

Katara blushed and rubbed her neck, "All it took was a little coal."

"It wasn't the coal, Katara," Haru smiled. "It was you... and them." He turned his attention towards Aang, Sokka and Severus. "If it wasn't for you four, I would have never gotten my father back."

"Yes," Tyro agreed, stepping forward as he placed a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Thank you for reuniting me with my son, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. And thank you for helping me find my courage once more. My family, and everyone here, owes you and your friends so much."

"So, I'm guessing you guys will be returning home, to take it back from the Fire Nation."

"Yes, we will. But not only just my village," he rose his arm into the air and began shouting out towards the now-free Earthbenders. "We shall take back all of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"

A series of cheering and battle-cries could be heard from all of the ships.

"Come with us," Haru begged.

"I can't," Katara shook her head. "Your mission is to take back your home, and you already have an army to do so now. But our mission is to get Aang to the North Pole."

As they looked towards the Airbender, who was playing with Momo on top of Appa's head, Haru came to a realization.

"That's him, isn't it?" he asked, though it sounded more of a statement. "He's the Avatar."

Katara nodded.

Haru's attention then turned to Severus, "And him... he's the one you spoke of as well. _The Mysterious Traveler._ The magical things he could do, the mysterious nature. He's as powerful as you say he is."

Katara smiled, "He can be a real odd one sometimes, and he definitely has his problems. But I like to think that with the right push and the right motivation, he's not all that bad. Just... _misunderstood_ , is how I would describe him."

"I'm just happy he's on our side. It gives me hope that with him and the Avatar fighting the Fire Nation, this war may finally come to an end. We will spread the word about those two with each village we take back. We will give hope back to the world through them."

Katara nodded as she embraced him, "Goodbye, Haru. Good luck."

"Goodbye, Katara. And good luck to you as well."

Once boarding Appa, the gang took flight and waved goodbye to the Earthbenders, getting back to their journey for the Northern Water Tribe once again.

Feeling tired from the whole ordeal, Severus decided to take nap and fell asleep with the air blowing peacefully against his face.

 _He sure does sleep a lot,_ Katara reached up to touch her necklace, only for her eyes to widen when she felt only the coldness of her neck. _Oh no, it'_ _s gone!_

* * *

On the platform of the heavily damaged prison rig, a figured reached down into the rubble and pulled out a Southern Water Tribe necklace, holding it in the palm of his hand as he studied it.

Standing straight up, the light from the setting sun on the horizon revealed the scarred face of Fire Prince Zuko, standing among the ruins of the now _former_ prison as the smoke rose behind him. He stared out towards the ocean and beyond, a determination within his eyes.

 _I'm coming for you!_

* * *

 **So, what did you think?**

 **Oh, I should mention that for those of you who are wondering what kind of story and tone I'm going for in terms of Severus's story-arc, I highly recommend checking out the "Logan Trailer 2" on youtube (aka the new and final Wolverine movie). My story isn't gong to be exactly like the trailer, but my inspiration is coming from directly of that. Though only in terms of Severus's story and direction.**

 **Once again, thank you guys for the amazing support and I'll see you in Chapter 10! :)**


	10. The Spirit World

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **Alright, so I managed to get this one done. I meant for there to be more to this installment, but it got so big that I had to move some of it onto a new chapter. As I said before, I'm trying to keep these chapters shorter. Been doing a 'not-so-good' job of that sometimes, but this one was hitting the limit and so I choose to put the rest into the next one.**

 **I hope you are enjoying the story. And I apologize to those who feel that this is feeling a little bit like a 'retelling of the tv show'. I don't mean for it to be, but I also don't want to stray too far that it doesn't feel like the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I can tell you that this is the chapter that starts to diverge (hopefully in a good way) and hinting at more to come.**

 **Once again, I'd like to remind all of you that if you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend watching it. I will be relying heavily on it.**

 **I do not own 'Harry Potter' or 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. All of this is just for fun.**

 **Enjoy reading Chapter 10!**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten:**

 **The Spirit World**

* * *

Severus was quite happy with the way how things were going. It seemed that Aang had forgotten about his plans to search for creatures to ride and had now turned his attention to showing off around Katara. The act from the Airbender reminded him of someone similar, but at least he could say that these attempts to woo the Waterbender were no where near as annoying or as painful to what he experienced. And best of all, they didn't involve messing with him. So he could ignore the kid's naïve annoyance with some ease. To an extent.

Traveling over the lands of the Earth Kingdom, the gang had made much better progress on their journey for the Northern Water Tribe, now that they were halfway. And it was definitely for the best too. Since their little adventure of breaking Earthbending prisoners from the rig, Severus knew that they had sent up a flare for the enemy to come looking for them. And he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.

While flying over a forest, and after a stupid stunt from Aang, they came across a scorched area of burnt trees, catching their attention. Wanting to check it out, they landed and searched the area, finding no life of any kind in sight. And as Sokka had said, it was definitely like a scar.

Severus was surprised when Aang fell to his knees, a sadness entering his voice when he spoke of how it was his fault for everything that had happened, and that he didn't know how to do his job as the Avatar. It was a moment that made Severus realize why he tolerated the boy over many others from his past. It was because of his willingness to acknowledge his faults and guilt, including how serious he acted when it came to things like this. For someone who had the traits of a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff, he had a surprising sense of responsibility.

As they decided to take a rest from flying, he watched as Katara tried to comfort Aang, using acorns to get his attention by throwing one at him. He couldn't help but smile when she threw another at Sokka for finding it funny. Using the acorns as evidence, she told him that life would return to the forest one day, which cheered him up.

The peaceful moment wasn't to last as an elderly man came walking up towards them, approaching the Airbender with a look of relief and happiness in his eyes. Though Sokka was startled by the man's sudden appearance, Severus knew that he was no harm to them. Though, he kept his wand hidden within the sleeves of his robes for safekeeping.

When the old man asked if Aang was the Avatar, he was overjoyed when he confirmed it, begging his help for a situation.

Even though Severus was willing to hear the old man out, he was irritated when the others agreed to help him and were suddenly heading towards the man's village without even asking what the problem was.

Sighing to himself, he made a mental note to speak to them about this later.

When they reached a small village, they found buildings torn apart, debris of rocks and wood on the ground. The sight put Severus's mind at ease, happy that they weren't walking into a trap, but it also raised a new worry as well.

 _What exactly were they up against this time?_

Landing Appa on the outskirts of the walls that went around the village, they followed the old man into a large building, one that was untouched. Walking on through the front doorway, Aang was introduced to the people inside, being addressed as the Avatar.

This made Severus groan, trying to control himself from doing or saying something harsh. But he still couldn't help but criticize how stubborn and naïve everyone was. Going around and announcing the Avatar was in town was great way of attracting _unwanted_ attention. Not to mention blindly walking into a situation they didn't even know the details to wasn't smart.

A man walked to them and bowed, "The rumors of your return are indeed true. It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

"Nice to meet you too," Aang bowed in return. "So... is there something I can help you with?"

The man's smile faded, "I'm not sure."

"Our village is in a crisis," the old man declared. "He's our only hope to make it stop."

The other man sadly nodded.

Turning back to them, the old man resumed, "For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. His name is _Hei Bai, the Black and White Spirit._ "

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked.

"We do not know," the other man replied, walking up to the doorway and staring at the sunset. "But each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the Winter Solstice draws near."

The last part caught Severus's attention.

"What happens then?" Katara asked.

"When a Solstice approaches, Winter or Summer, the Natural World and the Spirit World grow closer and closer, until the line between them is blurred completely. Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the Solstice is here, there is no telling what will happen."

"So what do you want me to do exactly?" Aang asked, completely dumbstruck and clueless.

Severus rolled his eyes, annoyed that he couldn't figure it out.

The old man stepped up in front of him, "Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit World than the Avatar himself? You are the great bridge between man and spirits."

" _Right. That's me,_ " the Airbender sheepishly smiled, making Severus shake his head.

"Hey, _Great Bridge Guy_ ," Katara whispered to him. "Can we talk to you over here for a second?"

Finding a small area to themselves, they all looked at the Airbender with worry.

"Aang, you seem a little unsure about all of this," said Katara.

"Well, yeah. That might be because I don't know anything at all about the Spirit World and also this whole Avatar thing, other than saving the world."

They all looked at each other before turning their attention back to him, which only pressed his buttons.

"It's not like there's someone I know who can teach me this stuff guys!"

Severus frowned, "But surely your culture and the other Three Nations have an idea on how it all works. You were reborn thousands of times already."

"But I failed to follow those teachings like the others did, not to mention my entire culture got wiped out! Its been more than a hundred years since an Avatar went through the cycle of training!"

"Okay, back to the situation at hand," Katara interrupted. "Can you help these people, Aang?"

"Well, I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just... come to me."

Momo hopped onto Aang's shoulder, purring against him.

Katara smiled, weakly, "Well, I think you can do it, Aang."

" _Yeah_ ," Sokka said with sarcasm. "We're all going to get eaten by a spirit monster, aren't we?"

Severus shook his head at him, _So much for encouragement._

* * *

Zuko stood at the helm of his warship, which was docked in a small village of the coastline. He was waiting for Uncle Iroh to show back up, after leaving him out in the forest in his little _self-made_ hot springs tub and threatening to sail away without him if he didn't meet his deadline. But after several hours of waiting, he began to worry, even feeling guilty for being so harsh in his threat.

Sighing, he went to his chambers and dressed in a battle clothing, taking a few of his men as he stepped off his ship and journeyed back into the forest in search of his uncle. Finding the area he last left him, they discovered a pile of rocks where a hot spring used to be, quickly putting together that Earthbending soldiers had captured his uncle.

Sending some of his men back to the warship, Zuko and a few others began tracking Iroh's captors on the back of rhinos.

* * *

As the sun began to set in the background, Aang stood at the entrance of the village, waiting for the coming spirit. Severus, Katara, Sokka, and Momo all stayed inside the main building with the villagers, watching with anxiety and dread of what was going to happen. Though Severus was interested in seeing a spirit, he also was worried about the threat this thing posed.

Though Sokka expressed his displeasure of hiding while Aang took the risk of confronting the danger, Severus agreed with the old man that it was best to leave the spirit stuff to the Avatar. However, on the flip side, he also felt that since he didn't know exactly what he was doing, that maybe they should consider interfering just in case if things didn't go well.

Once the sun had set and night took over, everyone was surprised by the no-show of the spirit. Especially Aang, who shouted something out that they couldn't hear and began walking back towards them.

However, the moment Aang had turned his back, something appeared from the forest and a dark shadow followed him.

The sight sent shivers down Severus's spine when he saw this, but it was the moment when the moonlight revealed its description that he truly felt scared. Not for himself, but for the Airbender.

The spirit was huge, black and white, with razor sharp teeth and very large limbs, like an animal. Its face was shaped weird with patterns and hidden eyes that no one could make out. It also had two extra arms on its shoulders. It was something out of a horror film.

Sensing its presence behind him, Aang turned and looked up at it, doing a bow. What his true expression was, no one could know for sure. They heard him say something to it, only for the creature to scream right into his face and a giant light exit its mouth, blowing the dust away. Continuing its scream into the air like an angry beast, it started smashing buildings, even doing a form of teleportation as it went from structure to structure.

Aang tried to run towards the spirit, failing to get its attention as it went on a rampage.

Sokka expressed his frustration again, wanting to go out and help the Airbender in battling the creature, but the old man managed to talk him out of it once more. But the moment Aang was struck by the spirit and sent flying onto the roof of a building, he immediately took out his boomerang and ran out the doors, heading towards the spirit.

As Katara yelled for him to come back, Severus rolled his eyes and took out his wand, following after him.

"Alex!" Katara cried out. "Both of you, get back here!"

Holding in his laugh at Sokka's attack of sending his boomerang at the bum of the monster, he felt a jolt of fear as the spirit turned towards them, letting out a scream.

"Sokka! Alex!" Aang tried to wave them away. "Get a-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the monster teleported right at Sokka and grabbed him.

Eyes widening, Severus casted a few spells and charms at the spirit, only to watch in shock as they all had no effect on it. He immediately realized an even bigger mistake as it turned its attention towards him and teleported in front of him. Before he had the chance to react, one of its arms grabbed ahold of him and began running into the forest with both Sokka and him.

Feeling the world spin around him, he could hear Sokka crying out for help, along with Aang's voice in the background. Keeping a grip of his wand, he tried to stabilize himself, but found it very difficult with how fast the spirit monster was moving. In a split of a second, everything went white right in front of him and he felt something surge within him.

Taking a chance, he pointed his hand at the spirit and shouted out the first spell he could think of. But instead of coming out of his wand, it came from his body, a wave of pure energy being unleashed. It pushed the fingers of the spirit off of him and he felt himself falling. Feeling the ground rush up to greet him, he immediately came to a stop and stayed still to allow the pain to subside. No longer feeling the grip of the monster's hand holding onto him, he blinked and realized he was lying on his stomach.

Getting up, he checked his right hand and saw his wand, relieved he didn't lose it. Turning his attention to his surroundings, he found himself in a grassy field, hearing the sound of a river nearby. But the color of the grass made him frown. It was all sorts of colors, from red to blue, even green-yellow.

Things got even more weirder when he looked up towards the sky, seeing that it was the same as well. All sorts of different colors filled the atmosphere, even moving as if they were like Northern Lights. The surrounding trees had a distinct style to them, looking similar but different from what he was used to seeing. But it was the animals, right down to the bugs and birds, that made Severus feel uneasy.

All sorts of hybrid-like creatures roamed around, passing him by as if he were just like the rest of them.

Deciding to head towards the river, he began to wonder where exactly was he, and what exactly was this mysterious world he had entered.

* * *

Hours passed as Katara waited by the entrance of the village, hoping for the return of her brother and two best friends. Laying on the ground, with her knees up against her chest, she began to wonder how everything fell apart so quickly. Two of the most powerful beings she had ever seen went up against the spirit of _Hei Bai_ and were no match for him. And to add to the list, her brother was taken as well.

Now it was just her, Appa and Momo to face the threat if they didn't return.

The very thought of never seeing them again made her cry, holding onto Sokka's boomerang in the palm of her hand.

Later, the old man came to comfort her and placed a blanket around her shoulders, trying to reason that the Avatar would figure things out and save her friends from _Hei Bai._ As the sun began to rise in the distance, the old man tried to get her to get some rest, but she refused leave, wanting to stay where she was until her friends returned.

A while later, both Appa and Momo joined her, finding comfort in each other as they waited.

Unknown to them, the spirit of Aang had witnessed the whole thing, sad that they couldn't see him and was frustrated by the fact that he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

And like an answer to his prayers, a _dragon spirit_ came to his rescue. Realizing the dragon is the animal guide of Avatar Roku, the Avatar before him, he found himself being taken to the Fire Temple of Crescent Island. Where he's shown that on the day of the Winter Solstice he'll be able to communicate with Roku, who has a message for him.

* * *

The hunt for Iroh's kidnappers had become frustrating for Zuko as he and his men continued to track them down. They got lucky the moment they had discovered one of Iroh's sandals, which had been left behind to help in tracking him.

However, Zuko was faced with an important decision as he and his men traveled on the backs of their rhinos.

As they got closer to finding his uncle, one of his men called out to him from behind.

"Sir! There's the Avatar's flying bison!"

Eyes flaring up with determination, Zuko turned and glared at the white animal in the sky, "Finally!"

Just as he began to steer his rhino around, he immediately stopped and looked back towards the footprints that were made by ostrich horses, finding himself at a crossroads. Looking back at the bison in the distance and then back at the road ahead, he sighed and declared, "We can deal with them later! Right now, lets get back to finding my uncle!"

Nodding at his command, they resumed their search.

* * *

After having flown Appa over the forest in search of Aang and her friends, Katara returned to the Senlin Village and continued to wait there, slowly beginning to lose hope as the sun began to set in the distance.

However, from the forest came Aang on his glider, landing in front of the main building. Both Katara and Momo rushed out to embrace him, happy that he was alright.

Though saddened that he was unable to save both Sokka and Alex, she reassured him that she believed he would figure things out and save them from _Hei Bai._

With nighttime coming again, Aang took his position by the entrance of the village, ready to face the threat once more.

* * *

Coming across a large, deep hole that was right next to the rocky road, Zuko and his men finally found the group of Earthbenders they had been hunting. Down at the bottom, five men surrounded a half-naked Iroh, who was chained and forced over a large boulder with his arms stretched out. Above, another large boulder was levitated over him.

Realizing they intended to crush his hands, Zuko jumped off his rhino and rushed down to stop them. Just as one of the Earthbenders allowed the boulder to fall, Zuko launched himself into the air and used his firebending to push the huge rock away with his feet. Landing in the middle, he brought his foot up and made the heel of his metal shoes connect with the chains, breaking them.

Now free, Iroh got into a defense stance, being paralleled by his nephew as they prepared for a fight.

"Excellent form, Prince Zuko."

The Fire Prince half-smiled, "You taught me well."

"Surrender yourselves," the leader of the Earthbending soldiers commanded. "It's five against two. You're clearly out numbered."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "Who said I came alone?"

Sensing the presence of more hostiles, the Earthbenders looked up to see the three men Zuko brought rushing down to fight them. But their distraction was enough for Iroh and the Fire Prince to make their move. Using his firebending, Zuko took out two of the Earthbenders at once, while Iroh used the loose ends of his long chains to wrap around the others, knocking them down. Meanwhile, the three firebending soldiers all took out the final one together, quickly bringing the fight to an end.

Looking at the unconscious bodies before them, Iroh smiled at his nephew, "Thanks for the rescue."

Zuko nodded, before saying, "Now, can you _please_ put on some clothes?"

"Got left behind when I was taken captive. And I highly doubt any of these gentlemen have anything in my size."

Zuko sighed, "Fine! We'll get you some clothes back at the ship. Lets just get going."

Signaling his men, they began riding back the way they came, with Iroh sharing a rhino with one of the men.

"Sorry for the lack of space," he apologized.

* * *

Severus didn't know exactly how long he had been following the river. In fact, he didn't even know if it was still daytime or not. The different forms of colors all around him made everything too confusing to figure out. He thought it was nighttime a while ago, but couldn't be sure enough to know. He wasn't even certain the direction he was heading in was the right way, or if there was one at all.

Taking a break, he rested on a riverbank, listening to the water as it rushed by. He almost fell asleep to its peaceful sound, until he felt the presence of something next to him.

"Hello there."

Spinning around, with his wand aimed directly at the owner of the voice, he met the eyes of a strange creature. Its body was like a green liquid-fluid of some sorts and small, standing about five feet high. It only had three fingers and small hands, despite long arms and legs. The only part of its body that had a solid surface was its head, being able to make facial expressions.

Surprised by his actions, it backed away, "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just meaning to ask... why are you here?"

Lowering his wand, but keeping a firm grip on it and his sense sharp, he replied, "I'm not exactly sure. Can you tell me where I am?"

The creature blinked, "The Spirit World."

Suppressing his surprise and worry, he then asked his next question, "Do you know the spirit of _Hei Bai_?"

He couldn't tell if he pronounced it right.

Eyes widening, the spirit replied, "Oh yes, everyone does. He's the spirit of a forest in the Human World. I've heard he's been kidnapping humans in hopes that they will stop burning down the trees." Its eyes lit up again. "That's why you're here! _Hei Bai_ took you from the Human World to use you as ransom. Though I must ask, why aren't you with the others in their spirit cocoons?"

Severus was unable to find an answer.

"I can take you to _Hei Bai's_ lair, if you want. Just stand still."

Before he could protest, the creature moved its arms around him and they disappeared from the riverbank, appearing in a large cavern a second later. Stumbling backwards, Severus held his wand in front of him, keeping his emotions under control.

"What did you do?" he demanded, glaring at the creature. "Did you just _A_ _pparated_ us?"

The spirit looked at him with confusion in its eyes, "I do not know what you mean by that, but I apologize if I caused you any discomfort. Oh look, there's the humans that _Hei Bai_ has been taking."

Turning around, Severus immediately saw the captive villagers and Sokka inside cocoons of some kind. Their bodies floated in a weird pink, purple-like liguid, though they seemed to be in no pain.

"Why is... _Hei Bai_ doing this?"

"Because the humans have been destroying his forests. So many trees and valleys have been burned, to the point that animals had to leave. _Hei Bai_ heard their cries for help and felt the destruction himself. He's hoping that by destroying the humans' homes and taking some of their people, they will stop this behavior."

Severus shook his head, "I understand his anger, its well justified. But he can't just blame all of humanity for someone else's wrongdoings and punish anyone he just comes across. The Fire Nation is to blame, not the peaceful village."

The spirit didn't respond.

"When will _Hei Bai_ release them?" he asked.

"When he deems necessary."

Severus sighed and took aim at the cocoons with his wand. Casting a couple of spells, he let out a loud cry of frustration when they did nothing to release the prisoners.

"How did you do that?"

Turning around again, he saw shock in the spirit's eyes, but also a realization of some sorts.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, _'how did you do that_ '? No human has ever been able to perform anything like tha-" the creature's eyes lit up. "You're the one that the _Guardian_ has been looking for!"

Severus raised eyebrow at the spirit, "What-"

"No time to explain! I need to take you to the _Infinite Waters_ and present you to _him_! Quick, before _Hei Bai_ finds and imprisons you in one of those cocoons!"

He had little time to react as the spirit ran forward and embraced him, disappearing from sight as a loud roar could be heard from outside the cavern.

* * *

Once the sun had set, Aang was prepared to face the spirit of _Hei Bai_ , readying his staff. But after a few hours of waiting, he began walking back to the main building, believing that he wouldn't show for the night.

Then, from inside a half-torn building, the angry spirit of _Hei Bai_ broke through the roof and brought the whole structure crumbling down, letting out a loud roar as it rose its arms into the air and a bright light shot up from its mouth. Aang created a shield of wind to keep the debris from landing on him.

Hearing Katara yell for Aang to run, the spirit quickly moved towards the main building and prepared to smash it. Before he could, Aang jumped in front of it and touched its forehead with his hand, seeing through the monstrous being and getting a small look at its true form, a large panda. Landing on the ground, Aang realized who _Hei Bai_ truly was.

"You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand why you're so aggressive. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. You hate what has happened, so you're taking action to make sure it doesn't happen again."

A silent exchange of understanding was passed between the both of them.

"I was upset too, when I first saw what had happened to the forest. But a friend of mine showed me that the forest will grow back. Because of these."

Holding out an acorn and setting it on the wood of the porch, the spirit reached down and picked up with its big fingers, taking a look at it. In a blink of an eye, its form changed from a scary looking monster to a peaceful panda.

Aang bowed, "I promise, on the word of being an _Avatar, the bridge between two worlds,_ I will make sure that the people who did this will be stopped."

The spirit nodded and turned around, beginning to walk away. As it exited the village, a series of bamboo stalks rose from the ground at the entrance, a group of people emerging a second later.

"Sokka!" Katara cried out, running towards her brother and embracing him.

Other villagers did the same to the ones who had emerged with the Water Tribe boy as well, a happy reunion for those had been taken by the _Black and White Spirit._

"What happened?" Sokka asked, confused.

"You were trapped in the Spirit World for twenty-four hours," Katara explained to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I seriously need to use the bathroom," he ran off.

Aang walked up, frowning, "Hey, where's Alex?"

Looking around, Katara's eyes widened.

"He should have been released with the others. Why didn't _Hei Bai_ give him back?"

"I don't know," Aang rubbed his neck, worried and upset. "But we'll find him. There's got to be a way to get him back."

Once Sokka returned from his bathroom break, the five leading members of the village approached them.

"Thank you, Avatar, for rescuing our home," said the man in the middle. "If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"You could give us some supplies and some money," Katara elbowed her brother.

"Sokka!"

"What? We need stuff."

The man bowed, "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey."

As the villagers began to disperse, Katara turned to the Airbender, "I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out how to do all of this on your own."

"Actually, I did have a little help," Aang remembered the visit from Roku's dragon and the Fire Temple. "And there's something else I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Sokka asked.

"I got a _message_ from Roku while I was in the Spirit World-"

"Wait, you were in the Spirit World?" Katara's eyes widened.

"Uh, yes, but that's besides the point. I need to talk to Roku, and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great!" Katara exclaimed.

" _Creepy_ , but great."

"There's a Fire Temple on Crescent Island, and if I go there on the Winter Solstice, I'll be able to speak with him."

"But the Solstice is tomorrow," stated Katara.

"Yeah, and there's just one more problem," the Airbender paused. "The island is in Fire Nation waters."

Both Katara and Sokka's mouths dropped at hearing this.

"You want to go into _Fire Nation waters?!_ " exclaimed Sokka. "Are you insane?!"

"Aang, we can't risk going that route, especially with the amount of time that we have until the Solstice," Katara warned.

"But I have to, Katara! Alex is still trapped in the Spirit World and I need to find a way to rescue him. Avatar Roku is the only person who will be able to help get him back. But its more than that. I need to know what Roku is trying to tell me." He paused. "And that's why I'm going _alone_."

Both of them gasped at hearing that.

"Aang, no! We're not letting you do this on your own."

"And I won't let either of you get hurt because of a risk I'm willing to take. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if that were to happen."

"Aang, the world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation," the Waterbender paused, fear deep in her eyes. "And neither can I."

Taken back by her words, the memories of Roku's warning and also Alex's situation of still being in the Spirit World was enough to muster up the courage to stand firm in his decision.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this. With or without you, I need to get to that temple."

Before he could turn away, Sokka and Katara both placed a hand on each of his shoulders.

"You're not leaving, Aang!" Katara declared.

The Airbender's eyes widened.

"At least, not without us," Sokka added. "We got your back. Lets go invade this temple, make contact with Roku and save Alex from the Spirit World!"

Aang smiled and nodded, "Thanks guys."

After getting everything ready to go on Appa, including the new supplies they got from the villagers, Aang bid farewell and immediately got the bison flying into the air, making course for Crescent Island.

* * *

As the night passed by, the villagers went to sleep in peace, happy that their situation had been remedied by the Avatar and his friends.

One of the leading members of the village exited his home, only to find himself in front of a group of Firebenders, including one who was half-naked on an armored rhino.

"Having trouble sleeping?" the one in front of them asked, his face half-scarred.

Before the villager could react, he was pushed back through the doorway he had just came from, hitting the ground. Looking up, he saw the face of Fire Prince Zuko looking down on him.

"Seen the Avatar and his _friends_ lately?"

* * *

 **Hopefully this gets the plot going. I figured it was time to start introducing certain things that this story is going to involve, considering we are on Chapter 10 and moving on to number 11. I will try to have the next one up soon (if things don't get in the way).**

 **I wanted to ask you guys something and I need your absolute honest opinion on it. I've been giving some thought towards the idea of Severus falling in love, but I've been having trouble deciding on which route to take, so I thought it would be a good idea to get you guys to post your answers on the reviews that you all leave.**

 **Okay, so, here's the question: "Should I have Severus get together with Lily? Or should I have him fall in love with someone else and have him end up with that person instead?"**

 **Just for the record, this is in no way revealing any future plot directions. Other than the fact that he 'may' fall in love and get his happy ending with someone. This is just getting a reaction in what you guys want to see happen. Some of you might remember me doing the same thing for ' _Redemption'_ on my voting pole of my Profile. So please, leave an answer on a review. I want your opinion. Even if the answer is that Severus shouldn't fall in love with anyone, I still want to read it. ;)**

 **Alright, I'll see you guys in Chapter 11! I hope you enjoyed reading this! :)**


	11. A Race For The Fire Temple

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hey guys, back for another chapter of the story. :)**

 **Oh, I just wanted to say thank you for the amazing reviews. They've been a great help and encouragement for me in writing this. Please keep 'em coming! ;)**

 **And just a disclaimer: "I do not own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ or _Harry Potter_. All rights go their rightful owner (though I wouldn't mind taking them off their hands ;)).**

 **Enjoying reading Chapter 11!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven:**

 **A Race For The Fire Temple**

* * *

The sun began to rise in the distance of the never-ending sea. The night receding from its light. Where it should have been peaceful and beautiful to witness, it only made things more terrifying for the Avatar and his friends as they flew on Appa's back for Crescent Island. They were still hours away from the Fire Temple and the Winter Solstice was scheduled to end by the time the sun began to set at the end of the day.

"Come on, boy," Aang called to his bison. "We've got a long way to go. Faster!"

The flying animal grunted as it picked up its speed.

"Aang, how do we know for sure that Roku can help us?" Katara asked, her voice full of worry. "Even if we do make it, how can he rescue Alex from the Spirit World? We can't lose an ally like him, not after everything that's happened."

"Don't worry, Katara," Aang called back. "We've seen Alex do amazing things, and I'm sure he'll be able to get himself out of this mess. And Roku has been in the Spirit World for over one hundred years. He'll be pretty knowledgeable in knowing how to get him back."

"That reminds me, why didn't _Hei Bai_ give him back like me and the others?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know," the Airbender replied. "Maybe he escaped. Either way, we're going to get him back."

Both brother and sister nodded in agreement.

* * *

After learning of where the Avatar was heading, Zuko and his mean, including Iroh, rushed back to his warship. He didn't even bother making a headcount or give a fair warning as he climbed aboard, immediately ordering for the ship to set sail and make way for Crescent Island. He made sure that the ship was going at its top speed, moving across the sea with a purpose.

Zuko was so determined to capture the Avatar and also the one known as _Alexander Blackwater_ , that he completely ignored his uncle's warnings of journeying into Fire Nation waters.

"Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish of them all!"

The Fire Prince was looking through a spyglass, "I have no choice, uncle."

"Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord _banished_ you?! What if you're caught?!"

"I'm chasing the Avatar!" he turned to face him. "My father will understand why I'm returning home."

"You give him too much credit. My brother is not the understanding _type_."

Looking back into the spyglass, Zuko spotted the flying bison in the air.

"There they are!" he exclaimed, turning to helmsman above. "Helmsman, full steam ahead! And bring up the catapult! We're shooting that bison down!"

From the middle of the ship a catapult was immediately brought to the surface, being readied by the men.

"Really, Prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"

Ignoring his uncle, the Fire Prince lit the hot sticker with his firebending, setting it ablaze, "On my mark. _Fire!_ "

The catapult launched the blazing sticker into the air, heading directly at the flying bison.

* * *

"FIRE BALL!" Katara screamed.

Aang stirred Appa to the right, barely missing the ball of fire as it flew past them.

The smoke from the sticker made a terrible smell that forced them to cover their mouths.

"We need to get out of Zuko's range before he shoots another hot sticker at us!"

"Can't you make Appa go any faster?!" Sokka struggled to breathe.

"Yeah," Aang's eyes widened at the sight before him. "But there's just one little problem."

Sokka and Katara gasped.

* * *

"A blockade!"

The moment Zuko saw the line of ships around the bordering lines of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom waters, his fears rose within, knowing that time was running out.

"Technically, you're still in Earth Kingdom waters," reasoned Iroh. "Turn back now, and they cannot arrest you."

"No, I won't back down! Maybe the Avatar will have some sense not to do something this foolish!"

"You mean, like you?" Iroh raised an eyebrow.

After a few moments of waiting for a change, it became clear that the bison would continue on its current course, having increased its speed.

"He's not turning around!" Zuko declared. "If they're planning to go through, then so am I!"

"Please, Prince Zuko," Iroh pleaded. "If the Fire Nation captures you, there will be nothing I can do to protect you. Do not follow the Avatar!"

Zuko closed his eyes, feeling his stomach tie into a knot within, "I'm sorry, uncle."

He turned to his men.

"Run the blockade!"

* * *

As they got closer to the blockade, a series of hot stickers were launched from every platform of every ship there was, heading directly towards them. Dodging fire balls from every corner, the bison struggled to keep from being hit.

Two flaming stickers clashed and sent debris all around, landing on Appa's side. Sokka, Katara and Momo attempted to put out the little burning spots that threatened to set his fur on fire.

"Appa, are you okay?" Aang asked, worried for his bison.

Appa responded with grunt, putting his mind into going faster again.

Flying up over the clouds, they were meant with another surprise as more flaming stickers came flying out of nowhere, which made things even worst since they had no idea where one might pop up from the clouds beneath them. Dodging every fire ball that threatened to hit them, Appa's maneuvering accidently knocked Sokka off and sent him disappearing under the clouds and falling towards the sea.

Heading down, Aang tried to get Appa under Sokka as he was in free-fall, just barely touching the water as Katara reached for her brother, managing to grab ahold of him and pull him onboard the saddle. However, Appa made contact with the water and bounced, making everyone fly up into the air.

Momo managed to catch a fish in midair, happy that he was able to get his dinner.

Sticking to flying just a couple feet above the water, they dodged incoming stickers and were just within reach of freedom. However, one more sticker was sent their way, directly in their path.

Knowing that they couldn't dodge it in time, Aang jumped forward and used his airbending to shatter the sticker into a ton of debris, allowing them safe passage to the other end of the blockade. Katara and Sokka catch ahold of the Airbender as he fell back onto Appa's head, making sure he didn't fall off. The flying bison flew right through the blockade of ship and continued on without any interference.

"We made it!" Aang cheered.

However, both Katara and Sokka had looks of worry.

"We got into the Fire Nation," Sokka swallowed. " _Great_."

* * *

Zuko's warship struggled to make it through the line of fire from the blockade, getting hit in the process and damaging its main engines. Despite the pleas of his men and his uncle, the Fire Prince urged that they pushed on through, believing they could make it. But the moment he saw that the Avatar and his friends made it through, he realized that all of the attention was now focused on his ship. They would be at the mercy of the ships that were much bigger and better.

However, much to his surprise, they didn't fire once as the Avatar passed. In fact, the ships came to a complete stop and allowed an opening for them to pass. Giving the order take the risk on going through, he immediately met the eyes of Commander Zhao on one of the big ships above him, the two staring one another down.

Realizing what was happening, he began to worry of what ulterior motivates the man had for letting them through.

Turning his attention to the bison in the distance, he ordered his men to make repairs while still sailing.

After hours of sailing on damaged engines, Zuko asked the one question that was bugging him.

"What's he up to, uncle? Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"

"Because he wants to follow you," Iroh answered. "He knows that you'll lead him to the prize that you're both after-" He paused. "-The Avatar."

Thinking about his uncle's words, a plan formed in his mind.

"If Zhao wants follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do." He turned to his uncle. "Order the men to change course for North after a few hours and sail for the far edge of the blockade."

Iroh nodded, turning away to head for the helmsman.

Turning to his attention to his men, he shouted, "Prepare the spare ship!"

Once the few hours were up and the spare ship ready for his journey, it was slowly lowered into the waters from the back of the warship, with the cover of smoke to hide it.

Jumping onto the spare ship, Zuko turned to his uncle above him.

"Keep heading North," he reminded him. "While Zhao follows the smoke, I'll use it as cover."

Though not convinced of his nephew's plan, he nodded, "Good luck, Prince Zuko."

The moment the spare ship was lowered into the water, Zuko took control and immediately set course for Crescent Island.

* * *

The sun was close to setting, making Aang anxious as he made Appa go faster. With each passing hour, the threat of missing the deadline grew. But just as the sun began to turn orange and set in the distance, the island of Crescent appeared. The moment Aang and Momo spotted the volcanic island, they immediately prepared for landing.

Locating the Fire Temple, they landed Appa in a spot that was hidden from view, but just close enough to the structure. While the bison rested, the gang made their way to the temple, following a man-made pathway. Once entering the seemingly deserted building, they found themselves confronted and attacked by a group of Fire Sages, the guardians of the temple.

Though managing to lose them, they ran into another one while trying to navigate through the large temple. When they found themselves trapped between a dead end and the single Sage, they were met with surprise when he bowed to Aang and declared that he wanted to help them get into contact with Avatar Roku. Using his firebending to open a secret passageway, he urged them to follow. And though distrustful of the Sage at first, they ended up entering the hidden passage when they heard the other Sages heading their way.

Walking through an old staircase, they listened to the Sage, who gave his name as Shyu, tell them about the temple, how it was once Roku's home and that the secret passages were made by him. He then went on to explain that the Sages were the guardians of the temple, but had since been forced to declare their loyalty to the Fire Lord after the death of Roku and the beginning of the war. He also explains how he they became aware of Aang's return due to the eyes of Roku's statue glowing a few weeks back, and that he had been planning his betrayal of the other Fire Sages ever since.

Following another set of stairs to the Sanctuary, they made it to the very top of the Fire Temple. However, their arrival was met with another obstacle.

"Oh no," exclaimed Shyu.

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang looked up to see a huge metal doorway, with a five man-made dragon heads and a fire symbol behind their snake-like bodies. Their mouths hang open, with pipes that ran through them.

"The Sanctuary doors... They're closed."

"Can't you just open them with firebending, like you opened that other door?" Katara asked, while Aang attempted to push the doors right open.

"No," Shyu lowered his head. "Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open these doors alone. Otherwise, all of the five Sages must open the doors together. With five simultaneous fire blasts."

"Five fire blasts, huh?" Sokka's eyes lit up, an idea forming in his mind as he stood beneath a lantern. "I think I can help you out."

After a few moments and materials later, Sokka prepared five animal skin casings with lamp oil, explaining that if they put them into the mouths of the dragon heads of the doors, they can set them off to create fake firebending.

The idea impressed everyone, even Shyu.

Once setting them up, everyone got into position behind some pillars, while Shyu lit the small bags simultaneously with his firebending. Rushing out of the way just in time, the bags went off with a loud series of bangs, echoing through the entire temple. Before the smoke could clear, Aang ran forward and prepared to enter the Sanctuary, only to discover that the doors had not opened.

"They're still locked!" Aang yelled back, after trying to pull on the metal handles. Falling to his knees, he felt a wave of frustration hit him and he immediately started sending blasts of fire at the doors, the sound of metal being hit by the wind.

"Why won't it open?! Uh!"

"Aang, stop!" Katara grabbed ahold of his arm, calming him. "There's nothing else we can do."

The Airbender's eyes lowered in defeat, sighing, "I'm sorry I put you guys through all of this for nothing. Especially you, Shyu."

The Fire Sage looked at him with a sad expression.

"I don't get it," said Sokka as he studied the dust from the blasts. "That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've ever seen."

Momo climbed up one of the dragon heads and poked his head in.

Katara's expression lit up with a realization, "Sokka, you're a genius!"

"Wait, how is Sokka a genius?" asked a confused Aang. "His plan didn't even work."

"Come on, Aang. Let her dream."

"You're right," Katara smiled mischievously. "Sokka's plan didn't work, but it looks like it did."

Aang frowned, "Did the definition of _genius_ change in the last hundred years?"

Katara winked at him, "Trust me, this plan is _guaranteed_ to work."

* * *

 **Okay, please don't hate me for this, but I had to leave it on a cliffhanger. There was more, but I decided to move it on to Chapter 12 instead. The chapter just got so big that I had to cut it. Sure this one is small, but I promise there will be more chapters later.**

 **I apologize if this one is pretty much a rehash of the episode it is from, but I figured I still need to keep true to the source material. I'm trying to find a balance on what to retell, what to change and what to leave out altogether. Complex work here! ;)**

 **I want to thank you guys for the answers you left on your reviews about a possible romance for Severus. And to be honest, I kinda expected the same reaction as the ones from Redemption. I'm still debating on the matter, but I'm hoping I can come up with a way to introduce a romance that fits in with the story, but doesn't rush anything as well. I want it to feel organic and natural.**

 **Message to "Sierra": _"Thank you for the review you did. And I don't mind that its long, please keep on doing more of them in the future. Reviews are like candy to us writers. As for your analysis of Severus's relationship with Lily, I do agree with you. There is an 'abusive' nature to it. I feel the same way in my story of 'Redemption' as well (glad your a fan of that story too ;)). Please keep doing reviews. I love reading your opinions."_**

 **Message to "geme1": _"Thank you for the multiple reviews you leave as well. I'm happy you are enjoying the story."_ :)**

 **Message to "Great Idea": _"Hey, I'm happy to see you've found this story! And thanks for the awesome reviews you've left. It means a lot."_ :)**

 **Well, that's all folks (Lol, _reference_!)! See you all in Chapter 12 (which hopefully should be up soon)! :)**


	12. Unexpected Foes

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Welcome back guys! Hope you're in the mood for some more Avatar/Happy Potter (well, technically it would be Avatar/Severus Snape) chapters. Managed to finish this one early.**

 **I should warn you that this where things are going to diverge a little bit. Well, things will go according to plan with Aang and the others, but with Severus we're about to journey into a whole new realm of 'weirdness' (you'll know what I mean ;)).**

 **Anyway, here's Chapter 12! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve:**

 **Unexpected Foes**

* * *

Severus couldn't tell how long they had been traveling, especially with all the sorts of different places the spirit was teleporting them to and from. But he knew that it had to have been hours. It was the only explanation for why he felt tired, yet somehow retaining the ability to stay awake and feel refreshed at the same time. Ever since leaving the cavern of _Hei Bai's_ lair they had kept on moving, never once stopping for rest.

The spirit had teleported them to different places, until they came to a forest, which bordered a world of empty _space_ itself. Looking towards the stars in the far distance, he stared in awe at the beauty around him. He felt like he was in a mix of two different kinds of worlds.

Walking towards the edge of the forest, they stepped onto a purple pathway that led across the empty space into an ocean of stars and blackness.

He almost didn't follow, seeing that it led on for miles, with no end in sight. But he was persuaded to, on the promise that his questions would be answered by the end of the path. And so he followed the spirit, having no clue what he would find at the other side.

At one point, he looked over the edge and saw a vast ocean of nothingness and faraway stars, sending small tingle of fear through his body. Looking away, he used his _Occlumency_ walls to push those feelings to the far back of his mind.

It was only after a while of walking did he finally break the silence.

"Where is it that we're going?"

The spirit looked at him, " _The_ _Infinite Waters_."

"And what is that?"

"The Infinite Waters is a place where communicating and traveling between worlds is possible. However, all of them are guarded by the _Leviathans_ , under the authority of the _Guardians_. So getting you to your Guardian is going to be a little tricky, but seeing how one of them are looking for you, it shouldn't be a problem."

"And you know all of this... _how_?"

"Most of us old spirits in my world are aware of this information. Well, the ones that are thousands of years old and have stronger connections with cosmic energy. But even we don't know everything. Our Guardian has a small form of communication with us, since we are _spirits_."

"And how old are you?"

The spirit frowned to itself, "Not entirely sure. Time can really escape someone like me. I think I'm about sixteen hundred years old."

Severus raised an eyebrow and sneered.

"Okay, so what happens when we get to this place called the _Infinite Waters_?"

The spirit shrugged, "Best guess is that you will make contact with your Guardian and probably get sent back to your world. Whichever one that may be."

A realization hit him, coming to stop.

The spirit turned to look at him, curious, "Something wrong?"

Seveurs shook his head, trying to push the weird feeling in his heart away, "Yeah... its just... I'm not entirely sure going back is... necessary right now... I've left fr- I mean, _acquaintances_ behind on the... your _world_. If I am returning to my own world, I should at least say goodbye. To let them know I'll... be alright..."

A fearful expression appeared on the spirit's face, "Oh no, you shouldn't go back. You have no idea what kind of consequences you've already set in motion just by going there in the first place. Traveling between worlds is dangerous and are only approved by the Guardians themselves. Getting you to your Guardian is the best way to remedy the situation. There can be no further delays."

Taking the spirit's words to thought, he nodded in reply.

Resuming their journey, they finally reached the end of the pathway, coming to a large wall of water that stretched on for miles and miles, seemingly _infinite_. But it was the colors of the huge body of water that caught his attention. There was pink, purple, blue, green and even orange all mixed together. It would switch between one another in seconds. And as they got closer, he could feel a sense of... _peace_. Something that made him feel safe just being there.

Coming to the end of the pathway, they stepped onto a large thin platform of some kind, making half a circle that went into the large wall of water and disappeared to the other side.

"Who goes there?!" a voice cried out, making them stop.

Looking forward, they saw three large beings in front of them. They had the outline of a human's body, but once their faces appeared from the shadows, it became clear that they were anything but human. Their faces were skull-like, with only pale skin, light red eyes and no hair. Despite their skull-like facial structure, they had large muscular arms, chests and legs, standing over ten feet tall. And in each of their hands, they held very large war hammers, with spikes on one end and a hard, flat surface on the other. They wore armor of some kind, with symbols Severus had never seen before.

The three large beings began to move around them. Flanking every side, with the exception of their rear.

The spirit swallowed, "I'm here to deliver this one to the Guardian."

"Which one?" the middle one asked.

"The one who guards... um, well... whichever world _he_ is from..."

"Going to need to be a little more specific," growled the one on the left.

"Okay, you've probably heard about the incident a while back. You know, the one about someone accidently using one of the _Infinity Orbs_? This is the one that he wants."

The three looked at each other and then turned back to them.

"Stay right there," the middle one commanded, turning around to head towards the large wall of water. As he approached it, the water parted, making a small door for him to step through, disappearing as light engulfed him.

As time passed, Severus got a good look at the two large beings that were watching them with serious eyes, tightening their grip on their weapons.

Sensing his curiosity of them, the spirit whispered, "They are the Leviathans I told you about. The protectors of every entrance to the _Infinite_ _Waters_. And trust me when I say it, they are the best at this kind of job. Though a little brutal and savage for my taste."

After a little while longer, the entrance apart again and the Leviathan came on back through, this time with someone with him. A little girl walked confidently in front of him, staring down the spirit and Severus. Coming within a few feet of them, she stopped and looked them over, a serious glare deep in her eyes.

The girl stood about four and a half feet tall, her face was dark brownish, with a little hint of white. Her eyes were hazel-like, a golden, brownish color. Her hair was dark, short and straight. She wore a muggle-style t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants, something Severus found amusing.

Staring deep into her eyes, he saw something for a split second, but couldn't figure out what it was. He almost could have sworn it was recognition, or some form of emotion that resembled it. If anything, it felt like she knew him. The way she stared at him felt different from how she looked at the spirit next to him.

"Is this the Guardian?" he asked.

The Leviathan behind the girl growled, "No, she's the Guardian's assistant. She's here to take you _to_ the Guardian."

The little girl continued to look at him, a look of determination and seriousness taking over.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he sneered, not liking how quiet she was.

The Leviathan took a step forward, bringing his war hammer against his chest, growling at him again, "Show some respect, wizard! She's a mute-" He suddenly stopped talking, grunting as his body fell to the ground with a thud.

Turning towards the Leviathan, they saw something sticking out of his back, a large knife of some kind. The body started to deteriorate. Its fresh started turning to ash, right down to the bone and muscle itself. Within seconds, all that was left was the war hammer, armor, the knife and some dust that remained.

Turning to where the strike came from, a dark hooded figure stood at the entrance of the wall of water, with the passageway still open. Its robed flapped around, a dark presence slowly creeping forward from it.

The little girl's eyes widened and signaled the other two Leviathans, using her hands to command them.

Nodding, they took positions around Severus and the spirit, with the girl in front.

But the dark hooded figure wasn't alone.

From the passageway came more just like him, filling up the platform as they ran forward, holding the very same knives that the other did. Low snarls could heard from them, their faces completely covered by their cloaks. Even their hands were covered with dark hand gloves.

Taking out his wand, Severus prepared for a fight.

"No!" the spirit grabbed him by the shoulder. "You are no match for _them_. We need to head back, right now."

"But I thought you said going back wasn't a good idea," he countered.

"That was before _they_ intervened!"

The once peaceful platform had turned into a warzone. The two Leviathans were using their war hammers to strike at their enemy, knocking the dark hooded figures back or sending them over the edge and down towards the abyss below. The ones that were lucky had broken bodies from their strikes. But the moment they had went down, they only got back up, as if it was nothing to them. And though no one could see it, the sound of their bones healing back together could be heard. It felt like something out of a horror film.

Two of them came running Severus's way, knives in hand.

Bringing up his wand, he casted two stunning spells and hit each of them within a second of each other. However, the victory was short-lived as they started to get back up.

 _"It's him!"_ one of them declared in a low, dark voice. _"He's the one we've been looking for!"_

"What the-?!" Severus was at a loss of words. "What are they?!"

"Another story for another time!" the spirit tried to pull him back towards the pathway. "Come on, we need to get out of here!"

However, Severus's attention was immediately caught by the little girl. Despite her size, she was taking down enemies from left to right. Doing flips and kicks to avoid their attacks, they were no match for her speed. She snapped one's neck with her bare hands, grabbed ahold of its knife and stabbing it in the chest, turning it to dust moments later. Doing a cartwheel, her legs wrapped around the head of another, using her weight to pull herself up and deliver a blow to its neck.

Immediately she launched herself, midair, onto another hostile, stabbing it in the heart. As it turned to dust, she jump to the next one within reach, repeating the act.

Doing a roll on the ground, she threw the knife at one of the hostiles that Severus tried to take down and struck it right in the back. Screaming out loud in vain, it turned to ash in seconds, leaving behind only its cloak.

The other came running at him, determined to catch its prey.

Before he had the chance to react, it grabbed ahold of him and flipped him on his back. It kicked the spirit away and brought its knife down on Severus's neck.

" _Remember, we need that one alive!_ " one of the dark hooded figures cried out from afar.

Looking up at where the face of his attacker was supposed to be, he only saw darkness and a pair of blue, purplish eyes staring right back at him. The sight sent a chill down his spine and paralyzed him, unable to think of anything to do in his situation.

However, something caught the hostile's attention as it looked up, only for a knife to be driven into its hidden face. Just as its body fell on top of him, it immediately disappeared in a puff of ash.

Quickly getting up onto his feet and wiping the ash off of him, he looked up to see the girl right in front of him, their eyes meeting. Nodding as a sign of appreciation, she nodded back, forming a small smile. However, it immediately vanished as she sensed one of the hostiles coming from behind, doing a quick spin to slice into its chest.

Feeling someone grab him from behind, he saw the spirit begin to drag him across the purple pathway, rushing away from the battle. Taking one last look, he saw the two Leviathans taking out the dark hooded figures with their war hammers, along with the little girl doing her thing as well. For the moment, they had a clean get away from what was happening.

However, two of the dark hooded figures followed them, unnoticed by the others.

* * *

The plan was set into motion as Fire Sage Shyu cried out towards the other Fire Sages, telling them that the Avatar had managed to get inside the Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Aang, Sokka and Katara waited for their opportunity, hiding behind the pillars.

Just as all five of the Fire Sages used their firebending to open the large doors of the Sanctuary, it opened to reveal Momo, who sneezing up some ash from crawling through the pipes.

Realizing too late that they had been tricked, Shyu, Sokka, Katara and even Momo all attacked the other Sages and made the way clear for Aang to rush into the Sanctuary. However he did not appear from hiding place.

"Aang, now's your chance!" Katara called out.

Finally, the Airbender did appear, but was being manhandled by Fire Prince Zuko himself.

"The Avatar's coming with me!" Zuko declared.

In their moment of shock, the Fire Sages overpowered them and began tying up both Sokka and Katara to one of the pillars, while Shyu was bounded with rope. The only one that got away clean was Momo, who flew away.

As Aang was led to the main staircase, he found his window of opportunity and managed to get free of Zuko's arms, tripping him to fall down the stairs. Rushing to save his friends, he found himself at a crossroads as the doors to the Sanctuary were being closed. Encouraged by Katara to leave them, he changed course and began running for the door, dodging the Sages' attacks and made a jump through the doorway, just inches from being caught by the doors themselves as they closed and sealed shut.

Seconds later, a bright light traced around the door and disappeared.

Attempting to access the Sanctuary with Zuko's help, the Fire Sages quickly figured out that the light was from Avatar Roku and that he doesn't want anyone else getting in.

Inside, Aang stared up towards the statue of Avatar Roku, with the red light beam from above about to reach its eyes.

"Okay, so the light hits the statue, and I talk to Roku. So why isn't anything happening?" he asked out loud.

After a few more seconds, he quietly became impatient.

"Why isn't anything happening?" He sighed, frustrated. "I don't know what I'm doing. All I know is airbending. Please Avatar Roku, talk to me!"

Just as the red light from the small window reached the eyes of the statue, a large cloud of fog went around the room and engulfed everything. And when it settled, it revealed a desert-like landscape, with mountains in the background.

And just a few feet away, stood Avatar Roku himself.

"It's good to see you, Aang," the Firbender spoke, smiling. "What took you so long?"

Despite being in a state of shock and surprise, Aang closed his eyes and bowed as a sign of respect.

"Avatar Roku."

* * *

 **I know I'm ending this on another cliffhanger, but I had to split this one again. The chapter just got so big that I had to. But I'm currently working on getting Chapter 13 finished. I don't want these chapters being too big, only up to 5,000 words or shorter. Once in a while, I'll make exceptions, but this one just got too big.**

 **How are you guys liking the story so far? Like I said at the beginning, this is where things start to diverge from the source material, at least in Severus's case. I won't say anymore, because it could lead to potential spoilers.**

 **Once again, thank you for the amazing support and reviews. It means a lot to me!**

 **See you guys in Chapter 13!**


	13. A Warning To Bare

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Just managed to get this one completed. And in case if you're wondering, this will complete everything involving the Winter Solstice episodes from the show.**

 **Funny thing, I originally meant for Severus to journey with the Gaang for the Fire Temple and get stuck in the Spirit World when he is forced into the Sanctuary with Aang. However, I had a hard time trying to figure out how he would have his run-in with the _Dark Hooded Figures_ (yes, they do have another name, but that won't be revealed until much later) and get back to the group in a short amount of time. So I reworked the plot and decided to make it happen during the events with _Hei Bai_ instead.**

 **Thank you guys for the amazing reviews once again! It means so much! Keep 'em coming!**

 **Here's Chapter 13! Enjoy reading! ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen:**

 **A Warning To Bare**

* * *

Zuko stood before Sokka and Katara, glaring at them as they tried to avoid looking into his eyes in defiance.

"Where is _Alexander Blackwater_?" he shouted.

They held their tongues, staring at the ground instead.

Sighing in frustration, he waved them off, "Doesn't matter! Once I capture the Avatar and deliver him to my father, I will get my honor back and have the resources to hunt him down later."

He walked over to Fire Sage Shyu, who was on his knees, surrounded by the other four Sages.

"Why did you help the Avatar?!" the Fire Prince demanded.

Looking into the young man's eyes, Shyu sighed and replied, "Because we have lost our way. And I don't just mean the Sages and their forgotten duty, but the Fire Nation as well. We've become what many Avatars before have stopped in order to bring peace. It was once the Sage's duty to help the Avatar keep the world safe and allow for harmony to reign. As it is _still_ our duty to do so now."

Suddenly, the sound of slow clapping could be heard from afar, echoing off the walls of the large hallway.

Turning towards its source, they saw Commander Zhao and a large group of his own Fire Nation soldiers.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance," said Zhao. "I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."

"Commander Zhao," exclaimed one of the Sages as they all bowed, with the exception of Zuko.

Shyu looked up at the high ranking officer and replied, "Doing what is right is worth the price of any punishment, even if its the accusation of betrayal."

"Well spoken," Zhao smiled, before turning his attention towards the Fire Prince. "And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work." He nodded towards his men. "Two traitors in one day. The Fire Lord will be pleased."

Two of Zhao's men marched forward and grabbed Zuko by his arms, bounding him.

"You're too late, Zhao!" he yelled. "The Avatar's inside, and the doors are sealed!"

"No matter," Zhao spoke confidently. "Sooner or later, he has to come out."

The two soldiers then dragged him towards one of the pillars and tied him up to it in chains.

Meanwhile, both Katara and Sokka looked at each other with fear in their eyes, wondering how they would get out of this situation. Shyu was soon tied up against the same pillar with them, as Zhao and his men prepared for Aang to exit the Sanctuary.

* * *

As Aang looked up towards Avatar Roku, he saw something change in his eyes. A mix of fear, worry and hope.

"I have something very important to tell you Aang," he spoke with a serious tone. "That is why when you were in the Spirit World, I sent my dragon to find you."

"It is about that vision?" Aang asked. "The one of the comet I got when your dragon brought me to the Fire Temple in spirit form?"

"Yes!" Roku nodded. "The vision is a warning of something terrible that is coming soon."

"What is it?" fear ran through the Airbender's body and soul.

"One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozen used that comet to begin the war. After my death, he began massing an army in secret and waited for the comet to arrive. And on the day it came, he and his firebending army harnessed its incredible power and dealt a _deadly first strike_ against the other nations. Since then, the comet had been named after Sozen himself."

"So the comet made Firebenders stronger?"

"Yes, stronger than you could even imagine."

"But you said that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the war now?"

"Listen carefully, Aang. Sozen's Comet will return by the end of this summer, and Fire Lord Ozai plans to use its power to deliver one more blow to the world that will end the war, once and for all. And like what Sozen did to your people, Ozai will do the same to the Earth Kingdom."

Suddenly, a vision of a muscular man standing in the middle of a fiery inferno appeared, shouting out as fire burst from his mouth and fists. His monstrous cry sent chills down Aang's spine.

"If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world." He paused. "Aang, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives."

Aang shook his head, afraid of the task that had been set on him, "But I haven't even started learning waterbending, not to mention earth and fire."

"Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice, but if the world is to survive... you must do it by summer's end."

The fear and doubt doubled within him, "But what if I can't master all the elements in time? What if I fail?"

Roku smiled, "I know you can do it, Aang. For you have done it before."

The confidence made the Airbender smile a little bit.

The Firebender Master looked up towards the sky, seeing the sun get lower.

"The Solstice is ending," he declared. "We must go our separate ways for now."

Aang suddenly remembered the other reason why he had come to the temple.

"Wait, before you go, I need to ask you for help on something else."

"If it's within my power to do so, I will help you," Roku nodded.

"Before I came here, my friends and I had an encounter with _Hei Bai, the Black and White Spirit._ He was terrorizing a village and we attempted to resolve the situation. However, the spirit took two of my friends and only gave one back after I calmed him. I was wondering if you could locate my other friend and bring him back."

Roku rubbed his beard, "I can send my dragon to _Hei Bai's_ lair and try to track your friend from there. But I can't make any promises, Aang. If your friend had been separated from _Hei Bai_ before he was brought to his home, then it will be very hard to for my dragon to follow his scent in the Spirit World. What is his name?"

"Alexander Blackwater."

The Firebender raised an eyebrow, "Odd name."

Aang giggled, "Trust me, everyone's said that."

"Very well," Roku's eyes lit up and a dragon appeared a few seconds later. Communicating with the spirit creature in silence, the dragon nodded and flew away.

"If he finds your friend, he'll bring him back to you."

"Thank you, Avatar Roku," Aang bowed. "Also, how will I be able to contact you? I won't be able to return to this temple. I need to be able to talk to you if I have questions. And I do have a lot of 'em."

"I am a part of you. The Avatar Spirit is connected to your past lives and you have the ability to access them, but it will take practice of meditation to do so. When you reach the Northern Water Tribe, find a place known as the _Spirit Oasis_. There you will be able to talk to me."

Roku closed his eyes and showed a vision to Aang of what was happening back at the Fire Temple.

"A great danger awaits you at the temple. I can help you face the threat, but only if you are ready."

Closing his eyes as well, Aang took a breath and his tattoos began to glow. The moment he opened them again, his eyes and mouth were glowing as well, " _I'm ready!_ "

* * *

Running as fast they could across the purple pathway, Severus tried casting spells at their pursuers, hoping to slow them down. However, every attempt ended in failure. Magic didn't affect these _things_ , except for knocking them down. Not to mention they were fast as well.

As they neared the end of the pathway, the spirit grabbed ahold of him.

"Once we're out of the Infinite Waters territory and into the forest, I'm teleporting us out of here."

"Why didn't you just do that before?!" Severus shouted at him, irritated.

"Because I can't risk it anywhere in this area," the spirit explained. "If I teleport I could end up sending us to a different world, maybe even a different Multiverse. Cosmic energy is connected to everything and everywhere."

"Multiverse?"

"Escape now, questions later!"

Just as they reached the end of the pathway, they both suddenly found themselves being tackled by the two dark hooded figures, falling to ground.

Seeing the other one attempt to stab the spirit with its knife, Severus aimed his wand and casted a _Stupefy_ , making the cloaked figure fly across the ground. However, the one on top of him immediately knocked his wand out of his hand and leveled its knife at his throat, making sure the steel was against his flesh.

Looking up towards his attacker, he saw those blue, purplish eyes again.

As it leaned forward, it snarled and spoke in a dark, low voice, " _Why is it that there is always a Severus Snape getting in the way of things?"_

Severus frowned, taken back by his words.

Suddenly, something tackled the cloaked figure and freed him of its grasp. Looking up, he saw the spirit wrestle with the dark figure, only to find itself pinned down in retaliation. The moment the figure raised its knife in the air to strike, Severus immediately searched for his wand, desperate to find it.

The spirit's eyes widened as the knife was brought down with force behind it, heading directly for its liguid-like body.

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_

A green light came from the side and struck the figure, making it fall over. The knife fell to the ground, with the body of its owner lying right next to it.

Frozen from a state of shock of his actions, Severus started to pant as he lowered his wand and continued to stare directly at the unmoving body. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide, and a facial expression of mixed emotions was present. He felt shock, guilt, shame, fear, all rushing through him at once.

 _Did I... kill him?_

The spirit quickly recovered and got up, looking down on his _now-deceased_ attacker.

"Guess their weapons aren't the only thing that can kill them," he said, turning towards his savior. "Thank you."

Though still in a state of paralysis, he heard something move behind him, but couldn't find the will to move.

The spirit's eyes widened at the sight of the other dark hooded figure as it got up, making a run for Severus as he continued to lay on the ground. But before it could reach him, a large creature came roaring out of the sky and struck the figure with its tail, sending it over the edge and towards the abyss of stars below. The creature landed and moved towards them.

Slowly regaining his senses, Severus looked up to meet the head of a dragon. Or at least a blue one for the matter.

"Avatar Roku's animal guide!" the spirit gasped. "He's come to take you back."

"You can hear him?" Severus asked.

"I can hear his thoughts. Roku sent him to deliver you back to your friends."

"But what about the Guardian?" everything slowly started to come back to him as he used his _Occlumency_ walls to push his emotions aside, helping with the shock.

The spirit shook his head, "We have no idea what's happening back at the Infinite Waters. And I, for one, am not taking the risk of seeing who won. Not with _them_ involved."

"But how will I be able to get back to... _my_ world? Can't I just find a way back to the Infinite Waters again later?"

The spirit's eyes rolled, "Do you have any idea how many locations I had to teleport us just to get to this spot. Finding a way to the Infinite Waters is hard, not to mention very far to travel. So many worlds to travel between, without getting lost or causing any trouble that would upset the Guardians. You got lucky with me, but I'm not doing that again. Sorry."

"But is there another way?"

The spirit stared at him, having a silent debate with itself before sighing, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but... there is _one_ other way."

"How?" Severus pleaded.

Taking a moment, the spirit answered, "Other than the Infinite Waters, an _Infinity Orb_ is another way to travel between worlds. Every world within every Multiverse has one, as does mine. If you can locate it and learn how to use it, you'll be able to return to your world."

"What does it look like?"

"It's round and glows the color of yellow, sometimes gold."

Severus's eyes widened as he recognized the description, but kept the information to himself.

"And where can I find one on your world?" he pressed.

"I don't know. I've only seen a picture of it in _Wan Shi Tong's Library_ once before."

Severus noted down the library's name, memorizing it in his head.

"Do you know where this _library_ is?" he asked, hoping for an answer.

The spirit shook its head, "Last I heard, it was in the Human World, but I only accessed it through the portals of the Spirit World. But if I had to hazard a guess, it would most likely be in an isolated place. Somewhere that challenges those to seek it, but only few could ever find it."

Severus rolled his eyes, _Of course it is!_

Turning towards the dragon as it waited patiently for him, he looked back towards the spirit and said, "I guess this is where our paths end. I _appreciate_ your help."

The spirit bowed, "I hope you find your way back home. And look out for more of... _them._ I don't know why they were after you, but you've made yourself a target. Good luck."

Waving goodbye, the spirit disappeared from sight.

Sighing, Severus got up from the ground and approached the dragon. However, as he attempted to touch it, he found that his hand went right through it. During his surprise of this, the dragon opened its mouth and a light appeared, shining directly on him. Holding up his arms, the light engulfed him and he disappeared from where he stood.

* * *

Commander Zhao and his men prepared themselves as the doors lit up and began to open.

"Ready..." Zhao ordered.

As the doors opened, a pair of glowing eyes could be seen in the darkness of the room.

"No, Aang!" Katara screamed, while Sokka struggled to escape from the chains that bounded them.

"FIRE!" Zhao yelled, shooting fire directly at the doorway.

The soldiers did the same, adding to the attack as fire engulfed the entire doorway.

However, as the fire settled, it revealed Avatar Roku instead, who was deflecting the attack with ease.

"Avatar Roku!" exclaimed Shyu.

Embracing all of the fire around him, Roku unleashed its power and sent everyone falling backwards. The fire specifically turned the chains into ash, freeing every single person who was bound to them.

The moment Zuko found himself free, he dashed forward, using his firebending to smash a hole in the wall. Sliding down the roofs of the temple, he reached the ground and made a run for his spare ship, keeping clear of the lava that was near.

Meanwhile, Zhao order a full retreat, making sure to take Shyu as a prisoner as they all made a run for the main staircase, heading down towards the exit.

Avatar Roku began to use his power to cause magma to rush up from the bottom of the temple and consume the building. And as the Solstice officially came to an end, the smoke circled around him and then parted, revealing Aang as he fell to an knee.

Sokka and Katara rushed forward to take him by each arm, helping him walk.

"We got your back," Sokka told him.

"Thanks," Aang replied. "Where's Shyu?"

Katara lowered her head, "Zhao took him."

"We need to go after him!" the Airbender declared, despite still weak. "We can't just leave him."

"We've got no choice," Sokka countered. "First we must escape this place and then get ourselves out of Fire Nation waters. The longer we stay, the quicker we'll end up roasted."

Though he wanted to protest, he felt too weak to do so. And as the temple began to collapse, they found themselves trapped, feeling the building begin to fall on its side.

"What are we going to do?!" Katara gasped.

* * *

At first seeing only light, Severus lowered his arms to find himself on an island with volcanic lava all around him.

 _Thanks for the assistance, stupid dragon!_ he mentally shouted.

Hearing a grunt from behind, he turned to find Appa. Both surprised to see each other

"Appa!" he exclaimed. "Where are the others?"

 _You're talking to an animal, you dumb idiot!_

Hearing a purring sound, he looked up to see Momo flying towards them, wearing a Fire Nation helmet. Landing on Appa's head, the lemur made a sound, almost as if they were communicating with each other.

Appa turned his way and growled.

Realizing that the bison was about to take flight, Severus ran forward and boarded him, just seconds before the animal immediately began flying into the air. Looking towards where he was going, he saw a large temple collapsing. Once getting close, he saw a large hole in the top floor, his eyes widening the moment he saw Aang, Sokka and Katara.

As the bison got within range, the three jumped onto the saddle, just in time as the temple began to fall faster into the lava landscape, disappearing in smoke and fire.

" _Alex!_ " all three of them exclaimed, rushing forward to give him a group hug, which he was too late to avoid.

Though he felt like he was being violated of his _privacy rights_ , he allowed it to happen for just that one time.

"We thought we would never see you again!" said Katara, which made Severus roll his eyes.

"I see Roku's dragon found you," Aang smiled. "I'm happy you're back."

"Actually, where have you been this whole time?" Sokka asked, his eyes glaring at him with suspicion.

Remembering the events that had happened earlier, Severus immediately put up his _Occlumency_ walls to keep his expression neutral and the memories at the back of his mind.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "But it's over now. Lets just get back on our journey for the North Pole. In fact, where are we?" He studied them over, raising an eyebrow. "And what happened while I was gone?"

The Airbender's expression turned from happy to sad as he remembered something.

"Long story," he said quietly, moving away from them to be alone on the other side of the saddle. Both Sokka and Katara looked at him with sad expression, while Severus turned away, understanding his need for privacy.

Taking control of Appa, Sokka set a course for Nort, heading back for the coast of the Earth Kingdom.

* * *

Watching the temple collapse on his warship, Zhao turned angrily towards the five Fire Sages before him, his face red.

"No prince, no Avatar! Apparently the only thing I do have is five traitors!"

All of the Sages, with the exception of Shyu, gasped.

"But Command Zhao, only Shyu helped the Avatar," one of the Sages pleaded.

"Save your stories for the Fire Lord! As far as I'm concerned, you are all guilty!" Zhao waved them off, walking towards Shyu. "I hope you found some sort of peace from this, because it will be the last thing you will ever do as a Sage."

Shyu looked the commander in the eyes and smiled, "More than _you_ will ever know."

Growling, Zhao turned his back on them and began walking away, "Take them to the prison hold!"

* * *

As Appa flew over the vast ocean, with the full moon high in the sky, Aang continued to sit alone, a silence taking over that worried both Sokka and Katara. Soon enough, the two siblings gathered around him, along with Momo as well. Without saying anything, they sat together, comforting one another.

Meanwhile, Severus sat on the other side of the saddle, lost in his own thoughts as he sorted through the memories in his mind. He tried making sense of the past couple of days, with all of the information he had just learned. But despite all of that, he couldn't get the memory of him using the _Killing Curse_ for the very first time out of his head. The very thought sent shivers down his spine as he thought about it.

He could describe every little detail, right down to how the body of the... _thing..._ fell to the ground. He remembered how quickly he shouted the name of one of the _Unforgivables._ How he sorted to taking a life in order to save one. But he couldn't but question if he really did do it out of fear for another life, or if it was just an excuse to take one. The very question itself scared him. Not wanting to know the answer.

He always knew that one day he would perform one, if not all, of the _Unforgivable Curses,_ especially considering his desire for the study of Dark Arts. But he never thought it would feel like this.

 _'Avada Kedavra!'_

His body shook as he remembered the ordeal, tears almost forming in his eyes. He quickly resorted to bringing up his _Occlumency_ walls, hiding from the pain as he allowed himself to fall asleep.

But he was quickly reminded that even in the world of dreams, there was no escape from his pain. Nor his memories.

* * *

 **Sorry for the last few chapters being short. I originally meant for all of this to just be one chapter long, but it got way too big the more I wrote. When I realized the extra chapter was going to be too big as well, I knew that the 13th chapter would have be a sorta _Part 3_ (technically _4_ ) to this. **

**As for other news, I've come to an important decision about a possible love-interest for Severus. While I figured that there would be those of you who would agree that Severus shouldn't get together with Lily (as I've come to believe myself), I still struggled with the decision on who Severus could get with, and if I should even do a romance pairing at all. I won't reveal my decision on either answer, but just know that I've come to a conclusion and that I'm sticking to it (100%).**

 **I hope you guys are enjoying the story and the direction it is heading in. :)**

 **Also, I highly recommend checking out my other story, _Redemption_ , the first installment to my _Severus Snape Trilogy_ , if you're interested. But I only recommend it to those who can handle dark, disturbing stories (because it goes in directions that definitely aren't for kids).**

 **Oh, I almost forgot, I've finally decided on what the _third installment_ of my _Trilogy_ is going to be. I'm still working through the plot of the story and some other details, but the title of it is going to be _'The Infiltrator'_. Just to be clear, this is not going to be a continuation of _Redemption_ or _The Mysterious Traveler_. The premise is also going to be a little different from these two installments, unlike what I originally said at the beginning of this current story.**

 **Once again, thank you to those who are leaving reviews. Don't stop! ;)**

 **See you in Chapter 14!**


	14. Pity

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Sorry for the late update! I've been busy and also very tired. But with summer coming up, hopefully I'll be able to do more chapters.**

 **Thank you to those who are leaving reviews. It does mean a lot to me. Please keep 'em coming.**

 **Disclaimer: "I do not own Harry Potter or Avatar: The Last Airbender!"**

 **Enjoy Chapter 14!**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen:**

 **Pity**

* * *

 _Severus ran as fast as he could down the purple pathway, daring not to look back as he pushed himself._

 _He could sense the hostile catching up with him, hearing the snarls and heavy breathing from behind, motivating him to go faster. And for the moment, he felt he could make it._

 _However, just as he made it to the end of the pathway, he felt the hostile tackle him from behind and fell. As the ground rushed up to greet him, he immediately found himself on his back, staring up towards his enemy._

 _Fear slivered through him as he looked into those blue, purplish eyes that stared back at him, almost as if they could see deep into his soul. Its dark cloak and hook refused him the knowledge of what his attacker looked like, only seeing a darkness where the face should be. Only the color of blue and purple were visible, but they held a danger to them that multiplied his growing horror._

 _Once he felt the cold steel of its knife against his neck, Severus pulled out his wand and quickly casted a Stupefy, forcing the dark hooded figure to fly off of him. Quickly getting back up, he aimed his wand at the hostile, realizing the figure was back to its feet now and was attempting to make another run at him._

 _Under the cloud of fear, he shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"_

 _The green light flew out the tip of his wand and hit the figure in the chest, falling onto its back with a thud._

 _Staring at the body of his attacker, realization slowly sunk as his eyes widened. He had used an Unforgivable. The infamous Killing Curse that was outlawed. He had taken a life without a second thought._

 _Dropping to knees, tears filled his eyes and his wand fell to the ground. He struggled to gain control of himself in such a state._

 _But the stiffen body suddenly began to move and rose to its feet as if gravity held no control over it. Its eyes glowed brighter in death, staring directly at its murderer._

 _Though he was terrified, Severus remained still, his expression only displaying shock and guilt._

 _"This is what you did to me," the figure said in a dark, low voice. The very wind seemed to die at its words. "Now you are what many have claimed what you would become. A murderer."_

 _Supporting himself on his knees and hands, he stared at the ground, feeling his body begin to shake. And soon, tears began to fall from his cheeks._

 _"Look upon your work," the figure spoke again. "Look upon the life you have taken."_

 _Severus shook his head, feeling the hole in his chest grow._

 _"LOOK!"_

 _The voice echoed in his ears, a haunting sound that refused to go away._

* * *

Opening his eyes, Severus felt the cool air against his face as he allowed the dream to sink in for him. After a while, he removed the blanket and allowed for his arms stretch. He noticed Katara staring at him with concern from the side, but pretended not to be aware of it.

His attention was then caught by Aang, who was pacing back and forth on the saddle, panting.

"Would you sit down?!" exclaimed Sokka, who was piloting Appa over the clouds and mountains. "If we hit an air bump, you'll go flying off! What's bugging you anyway?"

"It's what Avatar Roku said!" Aang sighed. "I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives."

Memory came back to him as he remembered the Airbender telling them all about Roku's warning of the coming Sozin's Comet. And that the current Fire Lord would use it to end the war, the same as the last Fire Lord who used it. The very thought that a comet could grant such power almost made him worried.

"Well, lets see. You pretty much mastered airbending, and that only took you a hundred and twelve years. I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."

Severus rolled his eyes at the boy's sarcasm.

"But I haven't even started waterbending, and we're still weeks away from the North Pole!" the Airbender started rubbing his bald head in frustration and stress. "What am I gonna do?!"

Katara reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to drop to his knees with her, "Aang, calm down! It's gonna be okay."

 _Why can't people just be truthful and encouraging, instead of lying to make others feel safe!?_

"If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know."

Aang's eyes lit up, "You'd do that?"

Katara happily nodded.

Severus rolled his eyes at this, _So clueless. Both of 'em!_

The two crawled to the edge of the saddle and looked down below.

"We'll need to find a good source of water first," the Waterbender declared.

"Maybe we can find a _puddle_ for both of you to splash in," replied Sokka.

After a little bit of time of searching, they came across a beautiful river, surrounded by trees, high cliffs and also a waterfall.

"Nice puddle," Sokka said, sarcastically.

Severus quietly chuckled at both Katara and Aang, who had expressions of joy on their faces.

Hearing a loud grunt, they looked up to see Appa flying over the river and then allowing himself to fall into the water, making a big splash. Though the group was at a safe distance, Momo was caught in the radius of the splash and became soaked. The bison rolled on his back, letting out sounds of pleasure.

"Yeah! Don't start without me, boy!"

Aang was out of his clothes within seconds, except for his underpants, just about to dive right into the water.

"Remember the reason we're here," said Katara, making him stop.

"Oh, right. Time to practice waterbending," the monk started to redress.

"Great!" Sokka whined. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

Looking towards the ground, Aang picked up a stick and handed it over to him.

"You could clean the gunk out of Appa's toes."

Sokka frowned and folded his arms over his chest, "So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work, picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?"

"Yep! Mud and bugs!"

Thinking about it for a moment, Sokka shrugged and took the stick, "Okay."

Though not in the mood to do anything, Severus followed him into the water, taking out his wand.

"Here, I'll help you."

"You don't need to, Alex. I'm fine doing it on my own."

" _My_ way is much easier and faster than using a stick."

* * *

The warship sailed across the sea as Fire Prince Zuko practiced his firebending with one of his men. However, the practice was brought to an early end as the ship began to turn, making both them hit the railing.

"Someone's changing our course!" Zuko declaring, heading up to the bridge.

Every since his encounter with the Avatar and Commander Zhao at the Fire Temple, Zuko had decided to lay low for the time being, while continuing his search. He began to question the whereabouts of Alexander Blackwater, having not seen him since their duel on Kyoshi Island. Though he did hear stories of his involvement in the prison rig breakout, the firebender began to worry he may have split from the Avatar.

"What's the meaning of this mutiny?!" Zuko yelled at the helmsman as he walked onto the bridge. "No one told you to change course!"

"Actually, _someone_ did," came General Iroh's voice.

Turning to his uncle, he saw him playing a game of Pai Gow with some of his men.

"I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."

The Firebender's eyes lit up a bit, "Is it something to do with the Avatar or Alexander Blackwater?"

"Even _more_ urgent," Iroh sighed. "It seems I- I've lost my Lotus Tile."

" _Lotus Tile?_ "

"For my Pai Gow Game. Most people think the Lotus Tile is insignificant. But it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ."

"You've changed our course for a stupid Lotus Tile?"

"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. _Hopefully,_ they'll have the Lotus Tile in stock and I can get on with my life."

Breathing deeply, Zuko let out a steam of smoke in anger.

Iroh smiled as the smoke covered him, "I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew."

* * *

Appa was grunting and sighing in pleasure as Severus used his wand to summon a cleaning spell on him. Between his toes and in his fur, all kinds of _stuff_ was falling out and flowing down river.

"Enjoy it while you can, buddy," said Sokka. "Because you'll be doing us next."

The bison let out a long sigh.

Once they were done, the two of them then decided to go for a swim up by the waterfall, while Katara practiced with Aang with waterbending. Disrobing, with only their undergarments on, they left their clothes on a branch and dived in.

While enjoying the cool feel of the water, Sokka spotted something.

"Hey, I think there's a cave behind the waterfall. Want to check it out?"

Looking at the hidden entrance, he nodded and they swam towards it.

Avoiding the pressure of the falling water, they swam on into the cave and admired how big it was, especially how the sound of water reflected around the walls. They could also see some colors as well.

"Wow," Sokka stared in awe.

"You act like you've never seen anything like this before," Severus said.

"That's because I've never left home before. Hey, Alex, can I ask you something?"

Severus became stiffed, his back to him.

"Go ahead," he reluctantly replied.

"Why are you so secretive about yourself, and your past?"

He continued to float in the water for a couple of minutes, letting the silence sink in, except for the sound of the waterfall behind them. He didn't know how to respond, let alone find a way out of the conversation.

Sokka sighed and closed his eyes, "Hey, look, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to. But despite that you've gained a little trust from me, I do have my suspicions. I trust that you are not a friend of the Fire Nation, nor an enemy to us. Everything you've done has proven that. But..." He paused. "... you can't blame me for asking questions. You're the guy who fell out of the sky, and lived. You're the guy that can do amazing things with a piece of stick. You're the guy who is a hero in my sister's eyes-"

"I'm no hero!" he growled.

Though taken back by his anger, the Water Tribe boy continued, "But you are to my sister. The same way Aang is to her as well."

"He qualifies more than I ever will be," Severus closed his eyes, his back still towards him.

"But you're no bad guy either."

The words sunk in for him as he looked into the water and saw a reflection of himself. He saw how much he had changed since arriving in this world a full month ago. His hair was now curly and much longer, extending down to his neck. His skin was much better, almost flawless. But the scars on his chest and back remained, despite the healing he had been undergoing. For some reason, the scars halted in healing after Kyoshi Island. Though mostly faded, they still had some visibility for others to see.

Realizing he was lost in thought, Sokka swam closer, "What about the scars?"

Coming back to reality, Severus turned towards him, "What?"

He pointed towards his back, "The scars. How did you get 'em?"

Feeling anger rise within him, he turned away, trying to push feelings to the back of his mind.

"Katara told me about the dreams the you've been having. She doesn't know what exactly they are, but she remembers a few involving your... _parents."_

The anger was now doubling inside of him, making it harder not to lash out. He continued to look at himself in the reflection of the water, trying desperately to bring up his _Occlumency_ walls. But it was a fight he was quickly losing. He was about to lash out until he remembered the last time he lashed out in such anger.

 _'I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods-!'_

Feeling the tears threating to fill his eyes, he forced them back, taking full control of his emotions.

Sokka looked at him with a sad expression, "I don't know how you got 'em, but you don't have to tell me. Just know that there's no shame in confiding in us. Especially in my sister."

Severus turned away, unable to face him.

The Water Tribe boy continued to stare at him with sympathy in his eyes.

"I don't need your pity!" Severus whispered.

Despite his anger, Sokka replied, "Maybe I do pity you, but I won't apologize for being human. You shouldn't slap away compassion or help from others, Alex. "

Though he wanted to protest, Severus turned away and began to swim away from him, finding dry ground at the end of the cavern.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to be alone!" he called back.

Getting out of the water, he sat down and closed his eyes, his back still towards the Water Tribe boy. He didn't have to look back to know that he was leaving the cave.

Listening to the peaceful sound of water, he let his _Occlumency_ walls relieve him of his emotions at the moment. Allowing for full control of himself.

Opening his eyes, he sighed and let his mind wander.

He thought about the dream and what it meant to him. He could recall the sound of his own voice casting the _Killing Curse_ at the figure. He could see its dead body on the ground, unmoving. Then he remembered the fight between the Leviathans and the dark hooded figures at the Infinite River. He also remembered the young, mysterious girl, impressed with her skills.

But there was the one memory that raised so many questions.

 _"Why is it that there is always a Severus Snape getting in the way of things?"_

What did the figure mean by that? Why and how was he somehow involved?

Last he checked, the only cloaked figures he was in contract with were the Death Eaters, but he had no interest in joining their organization now. But even if they had seen his disappearance as a refusal to join, it wouldn't warrant this kind of attention. And none of them had blue, purplish eyes either.

Clearing his mind, he began focusing on the information the spirit had given him about an _Infinity Orb_ , which would grant him the power to get back home. But in order to find one, he first had to locate _Wan Shi Tong's Library_ and get the status of its whereabouts. But he had no idea where to locate it, let alone know where to start looking.

Sighing to himself, he continued to sit and listen to waterfall, sorting out his emotions to stay clear within.

Remembering his _slightly_ forgotten magic training, he wondered how long it had been since he last trained in the art of perfecting his wandless skills. With everything that had been happening, he berated himself for forgetting to practice more often. Not only was he being hunted by firebenders, but now he had _dark hooded figures_ chasing after him as well. If that wasn't an indication that he needed to become stronger, then he didn't know what was.

Sighing, he got up and got into a battle stance, pretending that he was holding his wand. For the next few hours, he practiced his basic skills of magic, feeling himself becoming stronger with every attempt. The colors of his magic reflected off the walls of the cave, mixing with those from the waterfall. Sweat covered him as he pushed himself, eager to make progress.

Feeling his body beg for rest, he decided to resume his training the following day and left the cave, savoring the cool water that touched his skin. After using his wand to dry himself and redressing, he made his way back to the campsite, where Appa was waiting. Though wondering where the others had gone, he relaxed on the bison's stomach and looked on up towards the sky.

Appa sighed.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" he asked, immediately feeling upset with himself for talking to an animal.

The bison sighed again, as if he was replying something back.

"If Hagrid were here, he'd probably die a happy man after meeting you. This place would be an animal gold mine for him to explore."

The animal sighed, resting its head against the ground for a nap.

Nodding, he closed his eyes as well, listening to the sound of the river.

Not long after, he heard voices in the background, waking him.

"-you took their waterbending scroll!"

"I prefer to think of it as _high-risk trading._ "

"Hahaha! Good one, Katara."

Sighing, Severus opened his eyes and turned to see Sokka, Katara and Aang in a deep conversation.

"Sokka, where do you think they got it? They stole it from a waterbender."

"It doesn't matter," Sokka protested. "You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes."

"These are _real_ waterbending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending."

He watched as Sokka waved them off and walked away, "Whatever!"

Getting up, he met the boy's eyes as he approached, "What has happened now?"

Sokka sighed, shaking his head, "My _genius_ of a sister stole a waterbending scroll from some pirates and we just barely managed to escape from them. And Aang wasted our money on some stupid whistle that doesn't even work."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "I thought we were good on supplies that the village gave us."

"Yeah, well, Aang _practiced_ nearly all of that down the river. So we went into town to buy some more. Now we're down to only two copper pieces for money."

Severus nodded, "We'll need to get a move on in the morning. If those pirates are out for that scroll, then they'll be on the search for us."

"Agreed. The sooner we get to the North Pole, the better. This trip is draining us dry."

* * *

Standing with his uncle in the streets of the market place, Zuko's face was red with anger and frustration.

"I've checked all the shops on this pier," Iroh sighed. "Not a single Lotus Tile in the entire marketplace."

"It's good to know that this trip was a complete waste of time for _everyone_!" the Fire Prince spat his words into his uncle's face.

"Quite the contrary," Iroh's sad expression changed to a smile. "I always say the only thing better than finding something you are looking for is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain."

Some of Zuko's men walked right past them, carrying tons of items back to the ship.

"You bought a sungi horn?"

"For music night on the ship. Now, if we only had some woodwinds."

Iroh began walking down the pier, looking for more shops. Seeing a pirate ship in port, the former general's face lit up with excitement and hope, "Oh, this place looks promising!" He took off, leaving his impatient nephew to follow.

Boarding the ship, he found a monkey statue with red diamonds that caught his attention.

"Oh, that is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?"

While watching his uncle examine the artifact, Zuko's attention was immediately caught by the conversation of two pirates.

"We lost the Water Tribe girl, and the little bald monk she was traveling with."

Stepping forward, he asked, "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?"

From behind, Iroh did an impression of the artifact and imitated the sound of a monkey.

The two pirates turned towards the firebender and studied him over.

"And what interest do you have if this monk did?" the one with the reptile bird asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm willing to make a deal with you."

"Really?" the pirate smiled.

Zuko nodded, "What did they do to earn your... _attention_?"

The pirate hesitated, making the Fire Prince nervous that he knew the monk was the Avatar. But his reply quickly eased his worry.

"The girl stole a waterbending scroll from us."

"Then my deal should be simple," he offered his hand. "Help me find the boy and I'll make sure you get your waterbending scroll back."

The pirate accepted his hand as his smile grew bigger, "It's a deal."

* * *

As the sun began to set in the distance, both Sokka and Severus watched as Katara attempted to help Aang in his waterbending training. While Severus wanted to get back to his own training, he felt drained and tried, and knew he needed to rest. And besides, he wanted to see if what Sokka told him about Aang being better at waterbending than Katara was true.

The moment she had tried to do what was known as the _Single Water Whip_ and hit herself on the forehead, Sokka broke out into laughter, while Severus sneered.

"What's so funny?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

"I'm sorry, but you deserved that," Sokka turned to Aang. "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

"Aang will get his turn once I've figured out the water whip."

Severus's sneer disappeared at the sound of her voice, slowly beginning to worry.

As she attempted to do the trick again, the attempt accidently hit Momo on his rear, making him screech in pain and anger.

"Ugh!" Katara exclaimed. "Why can't I get this stupid move right?!"

"You'll get it," Aang replied, walking towards the river.

While Severus didn't see it, he could sense the angry expression she was making. He could even sense and feel the anger radiating off of her.

The monk began performing the waterbending trick with ease, "You've just gotta shift your weight through the stances. There! See? The key to bending is-"

"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT YOUR AIR HOLE!" Katara quickly approached him and began to scream, her voice echoing through the woods. "BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOUR INFINITE WISDOM GETS A LITTLE OLD SOMETIMES! WHY DON'T WE JUST THROW THE SCROLL AWAY SINCE YOU'RE SO NATURALLY GIFTED?!"

Though Sokka wasn't so surprised by her reaction, Severus was. Never before had he seen such emotion from the Water Tribe girl. Though he figured there was a hidden anger with her, it was the outburst that hit home for him.

Once calming down, Katara turned to her brother and saw the disapproving expression on his face.

"What?!"

He nodded back towards Aang, forcing her to turn towards the monk boy and her anger immediately melted away. Tears began to form in the boy's eyes, showing the damage she had caused.

"Oh my gosh, Aang," she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But you know what? It won't happen again." She picked up the scroll and handed it over to him. "Here, this is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."

The monk nodded, "It's ok, Katara."

"What about Momo?" Sokka motioned towards the lemur, who was rubbing the spot where he was hit. "He's the real victim here."

"I'm sorry, Momo," Katara got to her knees and began to pet him.

"And what about me? There was that time you-"

Katara's anger instantly returned and interrupted him, making Momo fly off at the sound of her voice, "No more apologies!"

"Just saying."

Severus sneered.

"You know, I'm hungry," Aang rubbed his stomach. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Most definitely isn't going to be nuts," Katara smiled. "I bought some bread from the market for us to eat today."

"Come on, when are you guys going to admit that hard nuts are healthy for you?" Sokka whined.

"Not going to happen as long as I'm around," said Severus as he turned to walk back towards the campsite.

Katara's smile changed to shock, almost as if she was struck by lightening.

 _Did he just 'try' to make a joke?_

* * *

Zuko boarded his spare boat as it left the warship and set sail into the water of the pier. Meeting up with the pirates in their ship, they sailed from the pier and down the river, passing trees and riverbanks.

"Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" the pirate with the reptile bird asked.

Zuko shook his head, "We don't need to stop. They stole a waterbending scroll, right?"

The pirate nodded, "Mm-hmm."

"Then they'll be on the water."

The pirate smiled.

* * *

Everyone sat down around the campfire to eat their dinner, sharing bread and a little bit of fruit. While everyone was having a nice conversation, Severus kept silent, lost in his thoughts.

Watching him with worried eyes, Katara attempted to start a conversation.

"So, Alex, what do you plan to do once we reach the North Pole?"

Severus was caught off-guard by the question, but he quickly recovered.

"Not entirely sure," he shrugged. "I thought I did."

"You don't plan on searching for your home?" she pressed. "Your family must be worried about you."

"Trust me, I highly doubt they've even noticed," he hissed.

Taken back by his anger, Katara tried to calm him down, "Alex, I meant nothing mean about it. I just figured you had family is all. Are they... dead?"

Severus shook his head, "No."

"Then why wouldn't they be worried?"

The anger returned, making him look away, "It's complicated."

"Then talk to us."

"Katara, don't!" Sokka tried to stop her, only to be ignored.

"No, I've had it!" the Water Tribe girl rose to her feet, getting everyone's attention except for Severus, who stared into the fire. "For an entire month since we've met you, you've not once told us anything. You fell out of the sky and somehow survived the fall. You have all of these scars you refuse to explain, and you can do things that I've never even dreamed of. You talk as if you need to get back home, but yet act like you don't really want to. The only thing I've gotten out of you is that you have a family, but yet you say they won't notice if you're missing. You talk about 'em as if they've hurt y-"

Severus's eyes widened as he looked up and saw her expression, seeing her anger change to shock and horror.

"Katara, what is it?" Sokka asked.

"The scars!" she gasped. "That's why-"

"Don't assume you know anything!" Severus shot up from where he was standing and stared deep into her eyes. "I don't need your pity! I've gotten nothing but pity since the day I was born! Your brother says you see me as a hero. Let me correct you by saying that I am definitely not. If you've known who I was - who I am - where I come from, you would assume the complete opposite. You may not see it now, but you will. So keep your pity and please keep out of my business!"

Turning away, he walked to a spot on the ground and laid on a bed of fur, pulling a blanket over him. Even as he closed his eyes, he failed to fall asleep, especially with so many emotions running free within his mind.

Meanwhile, everyone stared at him before turning their attention back to the fire and their food, but sat for a while in an uncomfortable silence.

"Katara, you just can't-"

"What was I going to do, Sokka? The way how he walks and holds himself just drives me insane. I can see the pain within him, and I've always wondered why he never opens up. But now I do know. It's his family, Sokka. I think they're _hurting_ him."

"You mean like abuse?" Aang asked.

Katara nodded, "I don't know where he comes from, but I don't think he should go back."

"Oh great!" Sokka teased. "Now you're taking in strays."

"We can help him," Katara punched his shoulder. "I know that our mission is to reach the North Pole, but what happens afterwards? After mastering water, Aang will need to master earth, which will probably bring us closer to Alex's home. If we can show him that being us is better than the life he has known for so long, we can help him become a better person. Look, he may have fallen out of the sky, but I think that was because he was trying to escape by doing... whatever it is that he does."

Sokka and Aang looked at each other.

"But that's up to him, Katara," said Aang. "We can try to win him over, but it will ultimately fall on him to make that decision."

Katara sighed and nodded, "I know. But there is still a part of me that wants to help him. No one should have to live like the way he does."

After finishing up their food and cleaning up, they all got ready for a night's rest. But as they did, there was a sense of dread and sadness, unwilling to leave.

* * *

 **Okay, reviewer 'Sierra' has mentioned in one review about the status of Severus's training of wandless magic. Please rest assure that it will play a part in the story and that we will see Severus progress through his training. I did forget about it during my earlier chapters, but only because there was so much going on, which I decided to use an explanation for why Severus hasn't been training. He still uses his wand as it is his most powerful source of doing strong magic. A lot of his strength for wandless magic is due to strong emotional outbursts, which we've seen before.**

 **And yes, Severus's physical changes will be explained later on, including his ability to perform both wandless and wordless magic. I already have an explanation laid out.**

 **Sorry for the late update. I figured it was time to get back on track.**

 **Please leave a review, and I'll see you guys in Chapter 15!**


	15. Down The River

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hey guys! I am so terribly sorry for how long it has been since the last chapter.**

 **I know a lot of you are wanting to murder me for the huge hiatus since my last update and I just want to say that I'm sorry. I've been busy with a lot of things; from moving, to work, and other issues. But the biggest of all would have to be the fact that I was plotting out the story. You see, I plan on diverging from the main series and going a new route. And trust me when I say that I have gone through a tone of ideas and story-arcs.**

 **While I don't have everything planned out, I can say that I do have an idea on where I want to go. Part of the reason I wasn't updating was because I wanted to figure out what the story was going to be and what direction it was going, so I put all writing on this story on-hold. However, because I know what I want to do, I'm officially back in business.**

 **I appreciate the reviews you've all posted and I hope the story is living up to your expectations.**

 **Please enjoy Chapter 15!**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen:**

 **Down The River**

* * *

The moon shined with only a slice of itself in the sky, the stars ruling the darkness that covered everything, and the sound of creatures echoing through the forest. In a small part where there were no trees, a campfire kept the darkness at bay, allowing for warmth against the cool breeze in the air. Everyone was asleep, getting their rest for the journey ahead in the morning.

As the night slowly went by, the eyes of Katara opened and rolled onto her stomach in her sleeping bag, checking to make sure everyone was fast asleep. Her eyes drew on Severus, who she knew would be the one to take the most advantage of rest. Aside from her brother. A feeling of pity overcame her as she watched him, the shadow of the revealing she had discovered about him creating a hole in her heart.

Pushing her feelings aside, she slowly rose from her covers and snuck over to the bag that contained the water scroll, managing to get it without making a sound. As she backed away, she turned to find Momo on the trunk of a tree that had been cut off, staring into her eyes from inches away, purring.

"Shush, Momo!" she whispered. "Go back to sleep!"

Sneaking past him, the lemur made a noise, earning another ' _hush'_ from her as she kept on walking, heading straight for the river.

Unknown to her, Severus had heard her speaking to the lemur, which had woken him up. He shook his head at seeing her leave with the scroll, despite what she had said about not using it anymore. Letting her wander off, he tried to get back to sleep, but found himself unable to, which he found interesting. After all the times he had been so tired, it seemed to have worn off. As if his body was more awake and energized.

Frustrated with just lying there, he quietly got up and went straight for the river, wanting to get a drink. Walking through the quiet forest helped clear his mind, finding some sort of peace. Once reaching the river, he was surprised to find Appa there as well, drinking from it.

"See you couldn't sleep either."

The bison turned and grunted, as if greeting him.

"Yeah, I can use a drink as well."

Appa went back to gulping large amounts of water, getting his fury wet.

Severus got to knees, despite the wet ground and used his hands to drink from the flowing river, enjoying the peace noise of rushing water around him. Once getting back up, he stood next to the bison, looking up towards the stars.

Hesitating at first, he slowly reached out and touched the creature's fur. He was surprised when the animal did nothing, as though he was okay with it. Going further, he began to pet him, liking the warmth and comfort of his fury.

"Your lucky to have such luxury against the cold."

Appa turned to him and grunted.

* * *

Katara groaned in frustration as she tried and failed to attempt a waterbending move from the scroll.

"Shoot! Come on, water, work with me here!" she cried out as she tried to do it again.

Unknown to her, the two ships of Zuko and the Pirates were nearby the shore, hearing her cries of anger. Landing their ships to shore, behind some bushes as cover, the pirates and Zuko quickly began to circle around.

Having heard noise of the boats landing, Katara slowly approached the bushes and looked through them, seeing them just a little ways from her position. Gasping, she turned to graph the scroll, only to run into a pirate. Attempting to turn the other way, the pirate reached and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"No!" she protested. "Let go of me!"

Performing a water move she taught herself, she managed to hit the pirate in the face with a wave of water, freeing herself. However, before she could get away, she immediately found herself in front of Zuko, who took her by the wrists and brought her to a stop.

"I'll save you from the pirates," said the Fire Prince.

Turning towards his men, he ordered them to tie her up against a tree, immediately grabbing the scroll from where it was lying.

Once satisfied she couldn't free herself, Zuko stood in front of her, with both his men on side of him and the pirates on the other. Along with his uncle being there as well.

"Tell me where _they_ are, and I won't hurt you or your brother."

"Go jump in the river!"

Turning to the side, an idea came to Zuko as he allowed his voice to become more gentle, walking around her.

"Try to understand, I need to capture both of them to restore something I've lost. _My honor._ "

Katara refused to face him.

"Perhaps in exchange, I can restore something you've lost," he took a necklace and presented it to her.

Katara's eyes widened and gasped, "My mother's necklace! How did you get that?!"

"I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering," he stood in front of her again as he put the necklace into his pocket. "Tell me where he is!"

"No!"

The leader of the pirates groaned, "Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised the scroll!"

Taking the scroll into his hands, he lit his other hand on fire and hung it over the flames, "I wonder how much money this is worth."

"No!" one of the pirates cried out.

"A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, and you'll get this back. Then everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the others she was with and bring them back here."

" _Fine!_ " the leading pirate growled as he and his men began to wonder into the forest.

* * *

As the sun slowly began to rise in the distance, Sokka woke to find the campfire having died out and his sister missing.

"Where did she go?!" he began searching his bag, beginning to connect the dots. "I don't believe it!"

Aang yawned as he rose from where he was sleeping, "What's wrong?"

"She took the scroll! She's obsessed with that thing! It's just a matter of time before she gets us all into-AH!" he screamed as a black piece of rope came out of nowhere and went around his wrists, and pulling him forward against the ground. Looking up at his attacker, he saw a pirate beginning to make a second attack, just managing to dodge the rope as it hit the ground.

Rolling to the side, he grabbed his club and quickly rushed towards his attacker, ready to fight.

Meanwhile, Aang tried to use his airbending against a net that was fired from a pirate with two crossbows, but was too slow to build momentum as it wrapped around him. Sending him rolling against the ground, another pirate grabbed ahold of the net and began to drag him.

"I've got him!"

"Where's the other one?!" asked the pirate that knocked Sokka to the ground.

"I don't know! Maybe a few of us should stay behind and search for him."

"Alright, take the monk back, while we stay behind."

Sokka got up and shouted, "Ah, what, I'm not good enough to kidnap?!"

A net was shot from a distance and wrapped around him, knocking him back to the ground as they made their way back to the river.

* * *

Severus began walking back to the campsite, while Appa remained behind. As he got closer, he began to hear voices that didn't sound familiar to him, making his mind begin to assume the worst, keeping quiet as he approached the area.

Hiding behind some bushes, he saw three men walking where Aang, Katara and Sokka were supposed to be, with all of their stuff on the ground.

"Have you found the other one yet?" one of them cried out.

"No, not yet."

"I've about had it with that face scarred, firebender!" the third complained. "It'd be best to kill him and his men, and just take the scroll. Maybe even sell that boat of theirs for a good price."

The mention of a _scarred, firebender_ immediately made Severus think of Zuko, connecting the dots of what was going on and who the men were. Keeping quiet, he slowly circled around the three pirates, cursing himself as he realized he didn't have his wand with him.

Hoping his wandless magic skills were good enough, he waited until he was good for an opening and rushed out from the bushes, crying out _Stupefy_ at two of the pirates.

Before they realized what was happening, the two men he was aiming for went down in seconds. The third one turn towards him, fear and shock deep in his eyes as he turned to run.

"Stay... stay away..." he cried out as Severus ran for him, fully focused on taking him down.

Raising his hands, he casted a _Impedimenta_ and made the pirate fly into the air and onto the ground. Quickly grabbing ahold of him, he looked into his eyes and shouted, "Where did you take them?!"

The pirate froze at the sound of his voice, fear rising at anger that was radiating off of him.

"I won't ask a third time, so you better answer me. WHERE DID YOU TAKE THEM?!"

The pirate nodded, "Alright! They're over by the river, upwards!"

Raising his fist, he struck the pirate and knocked him out, letting his body fall to the ground.

Without looking back, he immediately ran off, heading towards the river.

* * *

"Nice work," Zuko nodded at the sight of the Avatar and the Water Tribe boy tied up, beginning to feel a sense of relief. He took out the scroll and approached the gang of pirates, who held onto them.

"Where's the other one?" he asked, beginning to fear his worries were true about Alexander Blackwater.

"He wasn't there," the leader of the pirates responded. "But my men will find him if he is near the area."

"Aang, this is all my fault," Katara spoke.

"No, Katara, it isn't," Aang tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, it kinda is," said the bald man next to Katara.

"I won't hand over the scroll until the other one has been captured," Zuko spoke up, refusing to believe his fears were true. He turned to Katara, "Tell me where Alexander Blackwater is!"

Katara turned away, refusing to look at him.

"Stay away from her!" Sokka cried out, struggling against the ropes on his wrists.

"That wasn't part of the deal," the leading pirate spoke. "We brought you two of the three you requested. That should be more than enough."

The bald man approached Zuko by the side, whispering, "Prince Zuko, please end this. Best to take what life has given you, as opposed to being left with nothing when its too later."

"No, uncle! I've come this far and I'm so close to victory! To regaining my honor!"

Katara raised an eyebrow, " _Uncle?_ "

"But all you need is the Avatar. This Alexander Blackwater can wait. He would be nothing more than an additional prize. Leave him be."

" _No!_ "

"Enough of this!" the pirate leader shouted. "Give us the scroll, or you'll never get these boys!"

Sokka frowned, "You're really going to hand over the _Avatar_ for a stupid piece of parchment?"

Zuko's stomach dropped, "Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other!"

The pirates began to look at the monk with suspicion, some even with greedy-ful eyes.

"You're friend is the Avatar?" the pirate leader asked.

" _Sure is!"_ Sokka smiled. "And I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll."

Zuko's eyes and face lit up with anger, "Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant."

"Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth" Aang whispered.

"I'm just saying, it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord will pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life."

The pirate leader turned to Zuko and pointed at him, "Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get with the kid."

Zuko's face was red with anger as he responded, "You'll regret breaking a deal with me!"

Just as Zuko and two of his men were about to firebend at them, a figure came running out of the woods, surprising both sides. The figure shouted mysterious words and a series of lights came from his hands, striking the ropes that held Aang, Sokka and Katara hostage. Without stopping, the figure of Severus Snape shouted more words and began taking down more of the hostiles.

One of his spells hit a bag of smoke bombs and filled the entire area with smoke, blinding everyone. And in the confusion and chaos, a battle broke out between the two rivaling sides.

Severus managed to find Katara, who was struggling to find her way through the smoke, taking her hand as he ran. Somehow, his senses were on full alert, almost as if they knew exactly where to go in the smoke and where not to. He dodged every attack on instinct, keeping Katara with him through it all. Soon they found themselves outside of the smoke, hearing the cries of war and fighting behind them.

Meanwhile, Zuko engaged in a battle with the pirate leader, using his firebending skills against art of the sword. While distracted, one of the pirates attempted to get the scroll with his whip, only for Momo to snatch it before the rope could make it come to him. However, the pirater leader's iguana parrot attacked the lemur in midair, making the scroll fall into the smoke and land next to Sokka, who was crawling his way to freedom.

From corner of Severus's eyes, he saw Aang hoping over the smoke, while Sokka crawled his way out and Momo struggled to escape the iguana parrot as it chased him.

As he attempted to run into the woods, he felt Katara pull him towards one of the boats on shore.

"What are you doing?"

"Quick, help me get this ship into the water!" she began pushing the front of the wooden, pirate ship, along with the help from Aang and Sokka.

"It's no use!" he started to become irritated. "We should make our way back to camp and find Ap-"

He was interrupted as a pirates charged him with a spear, quickly dodging it and bringing his fist into the pirates face.

"We need a team of rhinos to push this ship," said Sokka.

"A team of rhinos, or two waterbenders," said Aang, looking into Katara's eyes, who stared back with a sparkle in hers. A sight that made Severus sneer and shake his head at.

Using their ability, the two began to cause water to flow onto the shore, lifting the ship off land and into the river. Climbing onto the rope ladder, they got onto the ship and began to set sail, hoping to get as far away from the fight as possible.

* * *

As the fighting continued, Zuko and the pirate leader were suddenly stopped by the bald man, who had been watching everything unfold from a small distance.

"Are you so busy fighting that you can't see your own ship has set sail?!" Iroh asked.

Zuko sighed and turned to face him, "We don't have time for your proverbs, uncle!"

"It's no proverb," he pointed towards the pirate ship down the river.

"Bleeding hawk-monkies!" the pirate leader ran off, being followed by his men.

Zuko began to laugh, until he realized that the pirates were taking his ship as a replacement and that all of his men had been taken out.

"Hey, that's my boat!" Zuko began to chase after them.

"Maybe it should be a proverb," Iroh rubbed his chin as he lost himself in the thought.

"Come on, uncle!" Zuko cried to him, getting his attention to follow.

* * *

Despite getting a good distance down the river, the four of them found themselves being chased by the pirates.

"Sokka, can't you make it go any faster?" Aang cried out.

"I don't know how!" Sokka replied. "This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe."

Severus slapped himself on the forehead as he prepared for a fight.

Once the pirates had caught up with them, they began to board, flanking them from all sides.

Katara used her waterbending to wash a few of them over the side and into the river, even managing to get the water whip right against one of them, while Sokka found himself being strangled by one pirates, despite having his legs over the neck of another.

"Little help!" the Water Tribe boy cried out as he was thrown against the sail.

Severus casted a few _Stupefy_ spells and took out a few of the pirates, including the ones that Sokka was struggling with.

Meanwhile, Momo managed to trap the iguana parrot by wrapping the pirates flag around it on the pole.

As the fight continued, both Katara and Severus's eyes lit up at the sight of the waterfall ahead of them.

Seeing the final pirate attempt to attack Aang, who had taken out a whistle of some kind and began to blow into it, Severus casted a _Impedimenta_ and sent him flying into the river.

"What are you doing, Aang?!" he shouted at him. "That whistle isn't going to stop this ship from going over!"

"It isn't supposed to," the monk responded. "Katara, help me push and pull the water! We need to buy us some time!"

"Time for what?" Katara, Severus and Sokka, who had just came to, all asked at once.

"Just do it!"

Without hesitation, Katara joined him as they began to use their ability to create a whirlpool, slowing down their speed.

"It's working," exclaimed Katara.

"But we have another problem," said Sokka, making everyone turn to see the ship that the pirates were on heading directly towards them.

Before they had a chance to react, the ship collider with them and they went directly over the edge of the waterfall, flying directly into the air. As they fell, they all screamed, except for Severus.

Time slowed down as he closed his eyes and waited for the end at the bottom. A million thoughts and emotions ran through him at once. But the one thing that kept on reappearing was the thought of Lily. He hated the idea that he was about to die without ever knowing if she was alright. Or that he wouldn't be able to see her again. All he wanted was to see her one more time, to see that she was happy and safe. Just one more time to see her beautiful green eyes and red hair.

Accepting his fate, he waited for the end.

Until he felt himself crash on the surface of something that wasn't rocks or water. Feeling his body react to the force of the impact, he realized that he had landed on something else. Despite the pain he was in, he opened his eyes and recognized the saddle that was always on Appa under him. Managing to sit up, he saw that they were in the air and the head of the bison letting out a grunt.

"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy," Aang held up the whistle that he had seen him blow before they had fallen over the waterfall. "Thanks, Appa."

"Thanks, Appa!" Katara cried out with joy.

"Yeah, we owe you one," Sokka replied as Momo flew down and settled on his shoulder.

Finding himself under awkward circumstances, Severus closed his eyes and forced his emotions to the back of his mind, "Thank you... Appa... for saving my life..."

The bison let out a grunt as he flew directly back to their campsite.

Once landing, they wasted no time in gathering their things and taking off again, hoping to get far away before Zuko or the pirates caught up with them.

* * *

Reaching the edge, Zuko looked down to see his boat damaged by the fall.

"My boat!" he cried out.

Struggling to catch his breath, Iroh began to laugh as he realized something.

"Prince Zuko, you're really going to get a kick out of this," he reached into his sleeve and pulled something out. "The Lotus Tile was in my sleeve the whole time!"

Lost in an ocean of anger and frustration, Zuko snatched the tile and threw it over the edge, bouncing off the head of a surviving pirate down below.

"Well, that wasn't very nice."

Zuko ignored his uncle as he stormed away, "I almost had him! ALMOST! Until that _Alexander Blackwater_ got in the way! I swear, uncle! I swear that I'm going to take him down!"

With tears in eyes in his eyes, Iroh looked down below the waterfall, "So long, Lotus Tile. You've served me well."

* * *

As Appa flew through the air, Severus listened to Katara as she apologized to Aang for her outburst, which he immediately forgave. Something he wasn't surprised by. Though he did find it amusing when Sokka presented her with the scroll and gave it to her as long as she admitted that stealing was wrong, only for her to immediately counter that it was alright to steal from pirates.

But as they continued their journey up North, Severus lost himself in his thoughts, affected deeply by the fact that he had almost died. The realization that he had almost took his final adventure on a world he barely knew and wasn't his own. A realization that made him both afraid and motivated. He needed to be smarter and safer now. He had no intention of dying before going back to his world. And that was a promise.

"Alex?"

He looked up to find Katara right next to him, seemingly worried and sorry.

"Look, um..." she stopped. "I just wanted to apologize for last night. I didn't mean to pry like I did. It wasn't my place."

Severus continued to look at her as he thought about how he should reply.

"No, don't be," he forced himself to say, earning a surprised look from her. "I was out of line when I took my anger out on you. And besides... it was only a matter of time before you figured it out."

Katara gasped, "You mean... those..." She stopped herself, sighing as she reached over and touched his arm, tears appearing in her eyes. "Just know we're here for you. And please know that..." She closed eyes for a second. "... that you have a place with us."

Removing her hand, she sat down next to her brother and covered herself with a blanket, beginning to fall asleep as the night came once again.

Staring at her and Sokka for a little bit, he looked up towards the moon and smiled, feeling a sense of peace as he allowed himself to fall asleep.

* * *

 **I know the chapter is pretty much a retelling of _'The Waterbending Scroll'_ from the tv show. I originally did plan on introducing a few new developments in Severus's growing powers and even take a new different route with the ending of the episode, but I felt it was too early for right now.**

 **I can promise I do have some new ideas for the next chapter that will be doing the episode of _'Jet'_. However, I should warn you, I plan on going a different route on this next one. Part of the reason is because I've never really liked Jet as a character, except for certain moments in season 2. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of Jet's character, but he came off as one-dimensional to me. Even his grand-plan in the tv show never really made much sense. So just a fair warning, the next chapter will diverge a little bit.**

 **Message to _'Johnson'_ : _"I appreciate the reviews. I love the ones that are huge and detailed. However, I can't deny nor confirm any of your questions. Even if they were all false or true, I can potentially ruin the story by giving any answers. But I do appreciate your reviews. Keep 'em coming!"_**

 **Message to _'PiffyEQ'_ : _"Thank you for the reviews you've done. Hope the story is living up to your expectations. Glad to see you back for this one."_**

 **Message to _'DanReid4'_ : _"Hey, sorry for the late update. But I do appreciate the reviews you've left. And I'm sorry that Severus's cover name isn't working out for you."_**

 **Anyway, I appreciate the feedback guys and I hope you all are doing fine.**

 **Also, if you're interested, this story is part of the _Severus Snape series_ I'm doing, so I recommend checking out my other stories like _'Redemption'_ and also my newest addition called, _'The Unknown Hero'. 'Unknown Hero'_ is the third installment to my series and deals with an idea I've been very interested in doing, while still tying into all of this. Please give it a read if you want to.**

 **Well, I'll see you guys in Chapter 16!**


	16. The Freedom Fighters

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Some of you have been asking if I'm abandoning this story and I just want to clarify that _"No, I am not"_. I plan on finishing this story and also the others in my _'Severus Snape series'._ Just be warned that I may not update as much as I would want to, for certain reasons. Whether if I'm working through the plot and future chapters, work, or anything else that can be very important.**

 **And because** **I already know how this story is going to go, I got ahead start on this chapter. Please know that this is where things will diverge from the original source material. As I've stated in the last chapter, _'Jet'_ is one of my least favorite episodes of the entire Avatar series, as well as one of my least liked characters. Part of the reason I hadn't updated was because I was trying to figure out how to do this chapter and still remain faithful to the tv show.**

 **I really hope you guys like this one and are okay with the changes I've made.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 16!**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen:**

 **The Freedom Fighters**

* * *

As the sun began to set in the distance, creating a beautiful orange color in the sky above the ocean, a Fire Nation warship sailed for an heavily damaged prison rig, docking at its port. A Fire Nation commander stepped off first, being followed by his soldiers. Heading towards the prisoner holding sector, he began to inspect the damage, noting everything down to his secretary.

Noticing someone approach him from behind he turned to find the Warden of the prison rig bowing.

"Commander Zhao! I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

Zhao smiled, "Which is why I choose to come today. I was about to send one of my lieutenants to handle this. But once I heard that the Avatar was involved, I knew that I needed to come and make sure that the reports were true."

The Warden nodded, "They are, sir. I saw the Avatar himself. But he wasn't alone."

Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? I've heard that he has a bison and also two Water Tribe civilians, one of which happens to be a waterbender."

"All of which I can confirm is true. Some of us have been led to believe that they are the children of Hakoda, the chief of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Oh yes, _Hakoda_! Capturing his children would grant us leverage, but he's not the threat that some say he is. He is nothing more than a commander of a small force. If we attacked them with the force of the Fire Navy, they wouldn't stand a chance. But I don't see how they are any of concern."

The Warden swallowed, feeling a chill rush down his spine as he remembered that day, "Sir, I wasn't just speaking of the two Water Tribe kids. I was also referring to the _other_ one who was with them."

Zhao's interest peaked, "Go on."

Hesitating, the Warden continued, "Somehow the Water Tribe girl managed to make us confuse her for an earthbender, allowing for an advantage to help the prisoners escape. But she wasn't the only one to be brought in. Another was with her, a teenage boy from the looks like. At first, he didn't seem much of a threat, but on the day the Avatar helped the prisoners turn against us, he... _did things_."

"What kind of things?" Zhao demanded.

"I... I don't know how to describe it... Commander. It was... it was nothing like I've ever seen before. He had this... stick, of some sorts... I don't know what it was, but whenever he pointed it at us and shout these mysterious words... light would come out of them."

" _Light?_ What kind of light?"

The Warden shook his head, "I can't remember the details. But whenever the light appeared, my men would fall. As if they were put under a deep sleep. I, myself, was hit by it. When I woke up, the entire facility was ruined and the prisoners were gone, including him."

Zhao's eyes widened as he began rubbing his chin, deep in thought. A realization hit him as he remembered something he had once read about long ago. The details of what he was hearing were matching up with the information he had once discovered in his youth.

 _Could it be true?_

Turning his attention back to the Warden, he nodded, "Thank you for your time and information, Warren. However, I must regretfully inform you that you are no longer in charge of this facility."

"What?!" the Warden was dumbstruck, unable to think clearly. "But... sir... I've served faithfully-"

"And you will continue to do so... back in the Fire Nation. There's a security post in the Capital's security, one I've hand-picked for you. You will gather all of things and leave immediately. And don't worry about the facility, I've already made plans to rebuild and place a new Warren in charge. The Fire Nation thanks you for your service."

The _former_ Warden was left shocked, his jaw hanging open as he stared down towards the floor. Regaining himself, he nodded, "Yes, Commander Zhao. At once, sir."

He turned to leave, struggling to hold his head up high.

Zhao faced his secretary, "Anything else that I should know about that Warden hasn't told me?"

The Secretary sorted through his papers and nodded, "The men have learned from the prison guards that Fire Prince Zuko was here, not long after the escape happened. Apparently, he had paid off the Warren to not mention his presence."

Zhao chuckled, "So foolish. Thinking he could keep his activities under the radar. Sadly, this is nothing more a dead end. Ever since their breach of the Blockade, they've been getting further North."

"Then why did you come here, if you don't mind me asking, Commander?"

"I didn't come here to confirm the sighting of the Avatar. I came to learn if the stories about this... _Mysterious Traveler_ , are true."

"Why, sir?"

Zhao sighed, "Because ever since the what happened here, reports of earthbender rebellions gone up. Settlements have been taken over by a certain group being led by an earthbender named Tyro. And even worse, they tell stories of their liberation by the Avatar and also one they're all calling the Mysterious Traveler."

The Secretary swallowed, "Do you really think the reports are true, sir?"

Zhao looked over towards the ocean, staring into the distance with a look of determination, " _Yes, I do_."

* * *

Fire Prince Zuko stood at the helm of his ship as it sailed just off the cost of the Fire Nation colonies of what used to be the Earth Kingdom lands. As the sun started to settle in the distance, he lost himself to his thoughts.

Ever since what had happened with the pirates, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about the situation. On one hand, he was frustrated and upset at himself for losing the Avatar, not to mention having been forced to walk all the way back to his ship with his defeated soldiers. He was now short a boat and no leads to follow the Avatar, aside from the fact that he was heading further North. But he was also somewhat relieved that Alexander Blackwater was still with him though. His fears of the mysterious teen having split from them now put to rest.

"Prince Zuko," he heard his uncle from behind. "Your dinner is waiting for you back in your room. Best to enjoy it while it is still warm."

Zuko sighed and turned to face him, "Uncle, what am I going to do? Every time I get close to capturing them, they always manage to get away."

Iroh looked at the boy with sympathy, placing his hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"Zuko, I know that you want to reclaim your honor, but have you ever stopped to think that maybe you should see this as a second chance? A chance to leave the world you once knew behind and go make a new one? There is no shame in making your own destiny."

"But what about my responsibilities, uncle? What about my honor?"

"How can you be responsible for something that isn't yours to be responsible for? Maybe there was a time when you had responsibility, but he are no longer bond to it now. As for your honor, you've never lost it in my eyes. You stood up for what was right, in the face of those who disagreed with you. You may have been unwise to do so in a situation where you couldn't win, but you showed courage and restraint when it was needed most."

Taking his words to heart, Zuko's face hardened as he removed his uncle's hand and walked passed him.

Iroh stared at him from behind with sorrow, sighing as he followed him inside.

* * *

Severus had some admiration for Sokka, but there were days when he really wanted to smack him for some his stupid ideas. Especially when it came to how they were supposed to travel after waking up that morning.

"What do you mean we shouldn't be flying?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, why can't we?" Aang echoed her.

Sokka sighed, "Think about it, somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa, he's just too noticeable."

"What?!" Katara gasped. "Appa is not too noticeable!"

"He's a gigantic, fluffy monster with an _arrow_ on his head! It's kinda hard to miss him!"

Appa began to grunt and growl at him.

Severus chuckled, _Right there with ya!_

Aang patted the bison's head, "Sokka's just jealous because he doesn't have an arrow."

"I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk."

"Who made you the boss?" Katara demanded.

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader."

The waterbender scoffed, " _You're_ the leader? But your voice still cracks!"

"I'm the _oldest_ and I'm a _warrior_ , so _I'm_ the leader!" Sokka cried out, his voice cracking at certain times, which earned a laugh from Aang and Katara.

Even Severus couldn't help but grin.

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean, he is the Avatar."

Severus rolled his eyes, _Um, no!_

"Are you kidding?" Sokka exclaimed. "He's just a goofy kid."

Everyone turned towards the airbender, who was hanging off of Appa's horn, upside down.

"He's right," he said without any form of protest or hurt.

 _I give the kid credit, he's honest._

"Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" Katara demanded, arms folded. " I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you've kissed a girl."

Severus shook his head, _Not this! Anything but this!_

Taking action, he stepped forward, "Getting off track here, guys. Sokka, I get what you're saying and I agree. Appa is noticeable, which is why our enemies have been able to locate us. But we have one advantage that they don't."

"Which is?" Sokka asked.

" _Flying!_ Even if they see us, we can gain speed and distance from them. Has it ever occurred to you that they can still find us on foot? We'd be more vulnerable against them if they found us on the ground."

"Look, just trust me on this. My instincts tell me we should do this."

"Instincts? I thought you were more of a science and logic guy."

"Says the dude who can do magical things and survive falls from hundreds of feet."

"Not exactly a good argument."

Sokka sighed, "We saw the traps that the Fire Nation made back there, which means they are nearby. If we take off, we put ourselves in danger of being seen."

"Why don't we just make Alex the leader?" Katara suggested. "He's smarter and more organized."

Severus shook his head, "Not really looking to lead."

"Which makes me the leader and I'm saying we should try walking for a change," Sokka moved his head back and forth in Katara's face, as if he was shoving it into her face.

Though not in agreement, Severus decided to let this play out and see where it goes, hoping to see this plan blowup in the boy's face.

"Okay, we'll try it your way, _oh-wise-leader_ ," she smirked.

Aang rushed up next to them, already having packed up in a large bag that was on his back and Momo on top of it, "And who knows, walking might be fun!"

Not ten minutes after they had everything packed up and managed to get going did Severus found himself trying not to smile at the boy's first impression of _walking_.

"Walking stinks!" the airbender complained. "How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?"

"I don't know Aang. Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts-" Katara started to speak in a sarcastic matter.

Decided to drop back, Severus walked alongside the bison, enjoying his company as both the airbender and the waterbender began teasing Sokka. However, his enjoyment of peace was ruined the moment they had walked passed some bushes. In front of them was a large group of Fire Nation soldiers, a fire and some tents, making them all realize that they had stumbled across a Fire Nation campsite.

Just as Sokka cried out for them to run, the soldiers were already rushing towards them, one of which fired a fireball, hitting the bush. Jumping backwards, Severus managed to avoid the flames and slid across the ground next to Appa, but was now separated from the others, who were trapped by the fire and the hostiles.

"Alex!" he heard Katara cry out.

Appa began to grunt and growl, ready for battle.

Taking out his wand from his robes, he circled around, hoping to flank the firebenders from behind. Rushing out from the trees, he took in his surroundings and pointed his wand at his enemies, ready to strike. But then he saw the man front of them fall over, making him wonder where the strike came from. He could hear the confusion going around, even Aang mistaking Sokka having done it. But he knew he didn't have the means to make a man pass out from what he had, aside from a boomerang.

Refocusing on the task at hand, he casted a few _Stupefy_ spells, taking down a few unexpected hostiles at once.

As they all began to turn around, Severus saw a figure come flying from the trees on his right, landing on two soldiers with his feet. The figure ran forward, using his twin tiger hood swords to catch two more soldiers by their heels and flipping them on top of the first guy who fell.

"Down you go!" the boy smiled, with a leaf of some sorts in his mouth.

Noting him down as no threat to him, Severus focused his attention back on taking down the Fire Nation soldiers.

"They're in the trees!" he heard someone cry out, realizing that more figures came flying down from above, attacking the soldiers. He also saw arrows disarming the hostiles from above. And soon enough, even Aang, Katara and Sokka had joined the fight as well.

Keeping focus, he dodged swords and spear, performing the _Stupefy_ on a number of enemies. Slowly, he found that his senses were on super speed mode, managing to keep focus heightened and be more aware of his surroundings.

"Wow, I've never seen any form of bending like that," came a voice, making him turn to find the boy with the hooked swords right next to him.

Dodging another attack, he took out the hostile, "It isn't bending."

"You going to tell me or do I need to work at making you spill the beans?"

Severus started to become irritated with him for trying to have a conversation during a battle.

"Believe it or not, it's magic."

The boy's eyes widened, "Yeah, you're right. I am having trouble believing that. I thought magic was just a myth."

"Works in my favor when people believe it is."

"Name's Jet. What's yours?"

Severus struggled to control his anger at the boy, being thankful that there happened to be others to take his anger out on at the moment as he punched a reviving soldier on the ground.

"Alexander Blackwater."

"Odd name."

Severus rolled his eyes, _Of course!_

Turning around, he saw the boy known as Jet take down the last soldiers by jumping onto his head and leaping off, colliding the man's head into the ground as he flew into the air and ran right up to Katara.

"Hey."

Katara blushed, "Hi."

Severus rolled his eyes as he checked his surroundings again, making sure no more threats remained. When turned back to where the others were, he saw that Sokka and Aang joined with Katara and Jet.

"You just took out a whole army almost single-handed," Aang stared at the scene in awe.

"Army?" Sokka scoffed, making Severus sneer at his jealousy. "There were only like twenty guys."

Jet walked forward and turned around to face them, with the others who were with him standing right by him, "My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters. That's Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, the Duke and Pipsqueak."

Aang chuckled as he walked up to the shortest one of the group, "Ha, Pipsqueak. That's a funny name."

Suddenly, the taller, more muscular one right next to the small kid leaned down, as if he was offended, "You think my name is funny?"

Aang stared up at him, almost as if he was afraid, until he smiled, "It's hilarious!"

Severus couldn't tell if he was the most stupid or the most bravest kid he's ever seen.

The large one known as Pipsqueak started to laugh, making Aang and the Duke laugh as well. He patted Aang's back, making him fall to the ground. Raising his head, he resumed laughing again.

After introducing themselves to the group known as the Freedom Fighters, they quickly got to tying up the soldiers inside one of the tents and then went straight to looting whatever they could fine.

Katara went to thank Jet for helping them against the Fire Nation soldiers, while Aang went to check on Appa, reassuring the animal that they were alright. Severus took the chance to try on new shoes, since his old ones weren't exactly doing him justice. After a few tries, he managed to a find a pair that matched his size and were in great condition.

The rest of the Freedom Fighters began loading up their loot onto a wagon.

"Jet, the _barrels_ aren't here. We must have gotten the shipment wrong," Smellerbee cried out from afar.

Jet nodded, frowning at the news as he laid up against the trunk of a tree, "Then we'll just have to take our chances with the next shipment then. See what you can find anymore information about the next one."

Smellerbee nodded as he began to look around.

"So, what did we manage to get? I can use some good news."

"Well, these boxes are filled with jelly candy," said Pipsqueak, licking his lips at looking at the box in his arms.

"At least we got some sweets," Jet smirked. "The others will surely be happy."

"Alright guys, let get this stuff back to the hideout!" the Duke ordered, receiving a slap on the head from Smellerbee.

"It's my job to give the orders, little man!"

Aang's face lit up, "You guys have a hideout?"

"You guys want to see it?"

" _Yes, we want to see it!_ " Katara's eyes widened with excitement, folding her hands together.

Sokka rolled his sees and sighed, feeling frustrated. While Severus didn't mind, as they were already in need a place to sleep for the night.

After a long while of traveling and getting the _cargo_ through the woods, they finally came to the spot that Jet and his gang led them to.

"We're here," Jet announced.

"Where?" Sokka demanded. "There's nothing here."

Severus started to become annoyed with the Water Tribe boy for his growing jealousy.

"Hold this," Jet handed him a rope.

"Why? What's this do?" he asked, taking it in his hand. After a second, the rope tightened around his hand and pulled him on up, disappearing into the trees above.

Taking a rope for himself, he watched as Aang used his airbending to leap his way on up on his own, just as he found himself being lifted up on into the trees by the robe. Once reaching the top, he found himself on a wooden platform, with treehouses all around. Including rope bridges, ladders and zip lines, along with an upper and lower canopy. It was a sight that impressed Severus very much.

He looked over and saw both Jet and Katara arriving as well, as the two came up together. Seeing the blush on her face made Severus sneer and also worry for Aang, hoping it wouldn't turn him into a jealous boy like Sokka. Though thankfully, he hadn't seemed to notice.

Walking with them across a rope bridge, he listened to Jet explain how they've been attacking Fire Nation supplies since they had occupied a nearby Earth Kingdom village. Despite some _remarks_ from Sokka, he found himself interested in the conversation and also the group. Hearing the backstories of the members of the Freedom Fighters made him feel some form of sympathy.

As the others walked on, Katara, Jet and Severus came to a stop on the rope bridge, after Katara had asked him about his parents.

"Fire Nation killed my parents," he lost himself to the memory of when the Rough Rhinos burnt the village he lived in to the ground, hearing the screams of his parents burning alive, trapped in the very house he once called home. "I was only eight when it happened. It's... a day I will never forget. Nor forgive."

Katara held back the tears in her eyes as she nodded, "I know what you mean. Sokka and I lost our mother to a Fire Nation attack on our tribe as well."

Jet looked at her with sorrow, "Guess we all were hurt by the Fire Nation. But I promise you this, Katara. One day, this war will end and my Freedom Fighters will do anything they can to make it happen."

Katara offered a small smile.

Continuing on, they settled into one of the huts for the night and joined the Freedom Fighters for dinner.

Looking around, Severus couldn't believe how many kids there were. The large table was full of them, and there were others sitting on tree branches and wooden platforms above. There was so much food that he wondered if they would have to restrain Sokka from trying to eat it all.

He watched and listened as Jet got up before everything and gave a speech, with a cup in his hand.

"Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine!"

Everyone started cheering, except for Severus and Sokka.

"I especially got a special joy from the look on one soldiers face, when the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog-monkey."

The little boy known as the Duke got up and did a walked in a circle, raising his fists into the air, while the others cheered once more.

"Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids, hiding the trees," he shrugged, taking a drink of his cup. "Maybe they're right."

Everyone started booing.

"Or maybe," Jet smiled. "They're dead wrong."

As everyone cheered once more, Severus couldn't help but sneer at how cheesy the motivational speech was. Though he couldn't help but feel somewhat happy that someone was watching out for his kids and giving them a home in such a time of crisis.

Jet sat down in between Sokka and Katara, getting into a deep conversation with them. But whatever they started talking about, he didn't know. Instead, he found himself admiring the scene before him. Kids eating and talking with one another, making jokes and getting into playful fights. The orange and yellow colors of the leaves seemed to lighten up the mood as well, creating a peaceful and fun atmosphere around them.

Once upon a time, such a thing would have annoyed him. But after witnessing what these people had gone through in his time on this world, it was a sight that made him happy to know that these dark times had their little moments like this.

But as he found himself enjoying the sight before him, he also felt a sense of sadness as well. Never once in his life had he ever experienced such a thing, except for when it came to Lily. And the thought of her brought him more sadness and grief. The world around him seemed to go silent, despite the obvious noise. He thought the colors of the leaves seemed to reflect off of him, but this time with a more darker color to its orange and yellow.

Memories of how he treated others and Lily came flowing back to him. He immediately felt like an outcast. Someone unworthy of the perfect, beautiful moment that was happening around him. He felt guilt and shame building up within him.

No longer feeling hungry, he got up and began to walk away, which didn't go unseen by Katara, who looked at him with worry and sadness.

Reaching the hut, he got under the covers of his sleeping bag and stared up at the ceiling for a while, before finally falling asleep.

* * *

Despite how much Katara wanted to go after him, she choose to let him be. Hoping that maybe some alone time with himself would help with whatever was going on with him.

Her attention was brought back to Jet, who was sharing a drink with Aang.

"Can't believe I'm having a drink with the Avatar," Jet smiled. "Good to know you're back to help us fight the Fire Nation. Where have you been all of this time?"

Aang smiled, sheepishly, "Oh, um, I stuck in an iceberg for the last one hundred years, only to be saved by these two." He pointed towards Sokka and Katara. "Oh, and Alex fell out of the sky at the same time."

Jet just stared, hesitating in taking another drink of his cup as his mind tried to process what he had jut heard.

"I'm not sure which one is more insane. The fact that you've been stuck in an iceberg and managed to survive for a hundred years, or that your friend just fell out of the sky. In fact, where does he come from? And how can he do those things that he just did today?"

Katara smiled sheepishly as well, rubbing the back of her head as she tried to find a good reply, "To be perfectly honest, we don't know. He won't tell us anything. The only explanation we do have is that he somehow traveled from one location to another in a matter of seconds. And as for his... _abilities_ , he claims its magic."

"Said the same thing to me too," Jet drank the rest of his drink in one gulp. "Anyway, doesn't matter how you and your friend came to us. What matters now is that you two are here. In fact, I was hoping you could hang around for a while-."

"No!" Sokka declared, standing up. "Look, we appreciate you letting us stay here and rest, but we need to get going in the morning. We need to get to the North Pole as fast as possible."

"Sokka!" Katara glared at him. "The North Pole can wait. We should stay for a little while."

"And weren't you the _instincts guy_ who wanted to walk all the way to the North Pole?" Aang smiled, mischievously.

Sokka glared at him and got up to leave, "No, we're leaving first thing in the morning!"

Jet smiled, "Oh, that's too bad, Sokka. Because I was really hoping that you guys would help me with a very important mission."

Sokka stopped and turned around, "What mission?"

"Take a seat and I'll tell you."

Sokka sighed as he sat back down.

"Alright, remember how I talked about we were going to free the village of Gaipan that's near here?"

Aang, Katara and Sokka nodded.

"Well, Smellerbee found something at the campsite that has information of a shipment that is coming in, and I plan to use it to free the valley from the Fire Nation. And with your help, I bet our victory is more than assured."

Looking at each other, they all nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Jet," said Sokka. "We're in."

* * *

Out in the woods, at the campfire that had been attacked that day, a group of Fire Nation soldiers approached the area and began to investigate, freeing the tied up soldiers in the tents. They tried searching the area for the ones who did this, but were left with no success or results.

Not long after, another group showed, being led by a high ranking commander.

Getting off his ostrich horse, the commander approached the lower ranking officials, who were inside one of the still standing tents.

Stepping on through, he stood in front of the men who were too busy talking around a table.

"Who's in charge here?" he demanded.

The men didn't even bother turning to address him, as one of them called out, "And who is asking?"

"Commander Rin-Shaw!"

All of the heads of the lower officials shot up and turned towards him, immediately bowing.

"Forgive us, Command Rin-Shaw!" one of them beg. "We didn't know it was you. Or that you would be coming."

"As you were," he took off his Fire Nation coat and placed it down on a wooden chair, walking up to the table they were all at. "Report."

One of the men swallowed, "The soldiers who were attacked say that it was a group calling themselves the Freedom Fighters, led by someone who calls himself Jet. All reports say it was just children and teenagers."

Commander Rin-Shaw raised an eyebrow at them all, "So, all of your trouble has been because of a few kids? Be thankful I'm not Commander Zhao or Fire Lord Ozai who is hearing this. What about the men?"

"They're all getting treated for their wounds, sir."

"Good. Make sure they're feed and taken care of. And I want everyone else on the search for these kids. Since reports suggest their attacks are near the village of Gaipan, they must have a base of operations around here. Did the men say anything about possible leads to the whereabouts of Lieutenant Coral?"

"No, sir."

Though they didn't hear it, Rin-Shaw sighed in frustration.

"Is the shipment going according to schedule?"

"Yes, sir. Last report estimated that they will be arriving by morning of the second day from now to change shifts."

Rin-Shaw nodded, "Good, keep me posted on its status. That shipment needs to get across the river and to the mining villages down south. I don't want any complications."

"Yes, sir," the official paused, afraid to continue. "But... sir... there's more."

"Then report it! That's why we're having this meeting."

The man swallowed, "It's been reported that the Avatar was involved, including another who reports are calling... _the Mysterious Traveler._ "

Rin-Shaw paused and looked up, "You're certain?"

"All of the men who witnessed the attack are all saying the same thing, even confirming the rumors of what this individual can do has been confirmed by them as well."

Letting the words sink in, Rin-Shaw nodded, "Alright, send word to everyone in the Earth Kingdom. Tell them that the Avatar is here, including the Mysterious Traveler. We have one chance to end this threat while we still can."

"Yes sir!" they all cried out at once, dispersing to deliver their orders.

Staring at the map below him, his eyes searched the forest surrounding Giapan, as if he was hoping to find something. Or someone.

* * *

 **So? What did you think?** **Yeah, it's pretty much very similar to the original episode. Or at least for this half of the episode (had to cut it short, because it was turning into a very big chapter).**

 **But what about the addition of new-coming character, _Fire Nation Commander_ _Rin-Shaw_? I hope it's a decent start and adds some new freshness.**

 **Appreciate the reviews, guys (as always). Keep 'em coming!**

 **See you in Chapter 17!**


	17. Learning New Skills

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Got this one done a little ahead of schedule. Been on a roll with the writing certainly. Don't get used to it, but I hope I can keep up the updating. Just remember I'm also working two other stories, plus two more on the way as well. I won't be surprised if fans of the other two are jealous of this story getting all the attention right now.**

 **Anyway, DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Harry Potter_ or _Avatar: The Last Airbender_!**

 **Enjoy Chapter 17!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen:**

 **Learning New Skills**

* * *

Severus couldn't decide whether if he agreed with Sokka about Jet or not. From one point of view, the guy wasn't all that bad. He had a confidence that didn't appear to be arrogant, had intelligence, knew how to fight, had the qualities of a good leader, and seemed to be more about taking care of the children who were with him.

But he couldn't help shaking the feeling that there was something off about him as well. Like as if he had a hidden agenda or something he was keeping under his relaxed attitude. After all, he had seen it before.

Then again, maybe he was just looking for the slightly hint of a negative detail to nitpick.

"Alright, Jet," Sokka folded his arms as he leaned against the tree of the platform they were all on. "What's this mission you want our help with?"

Jet smiled, earning a blush from Katara, "Glad you asked, Sokka. Details first, my Freedom Fighters and I have been attacking Fire Nation supply lines for a few years now. However, our trouble has attracted the attention of a commander, who just arrived yesterday and is planning to take up residence in Giapan. He means to stay as long as long as possible to tear us down."

Katara gasped.

"And who is this commander?" Severus asked.

"His name is Commander Rin-Shaw. Funny name, in my opinion. And it's exactly the opportunity I've been waiting for. He's one of the commanders in the Fire Nation. I plan to... _force_ him and his men out of the valley for good."

"And how, exactly, are you going to do that?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.

Jet nodded towards the fabric that covered the doorway of the hut, pulling it open for them to go through. Once everyone was inside, they all suddenly came to a stop at the sight before them.

A woman in a Fire Nation outfit was tired up to a post, mouth gagged and laying on a furry blanket beneath her. Her eyes flashed furiously at them as they entered, struggling to escape her bounds with a muffled cry.

Katara covered her mouth in shock, "Jet... what... who is she?"

"And most importantly," Sokka turned to point at him, accusingly. "Why do you have her tied up like this?"

Severus closed his eyes and sighed, beginning to wonder if he was right to suspect the worst from Jet.

Jet put up his hands, "Guys, calm down. It isn't what you think."

"Well, it looks like you just kidnapped someone and bound her up like a prisoner!"

"She's Fire Nation, Sokka!" Jet pointed at her. "A few days ago, my Freedom Fighters found her trying to hurt a bunch of people, even ordering her men to start burning down trees. When we put a stop to them, we discovered something important about her. Something that can turn the tide in the fight for this valley." He paused, turning to look at the woman below him. "She is one of Commander Rin-Shaw's lieutenants... and his daughter."

Everyone stared at her with wide eyes.

"Her father runs a large number of forces surrounding Giapan. When we discovered who she was, I made sure a message was sent to Rin-Shaw. The attack that happened yesterday, that was a way of sending up a red flare. To tell him where to find us."

Severus frowned at him, sensing that he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"By leading him to you?!" Sokka ranted. "You just painted a target on your back by doing this!"

"No, Sokka, you don't get it. This kidnapping is going to make Rin-Shaw leave the alley. I made it clear that if he doesn't withdrawl his forces, he won't ever get to see her again."

Sokka's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "You're going to kill her if he doesn't leave?!"

Jet's face turned to confusion and then surprise, "What? No! I'm not going to kill her! We're just going to keep her hostage and wait for Rin-Shaw to leave."

Severus shook his head, "That plan has a ton of holes in it. Even if he leaves, what's going to stop him from coming back and burning down this forest to find you?"

Jet smiled, "I've thought about that, and I have a plan."

"Which is?" Sokka motioned for him to explain.

"A convoy is on its way to resupply the troopers in Giapan and also mining villages down south. However, this is no ordinary supply line. From what I've been able to learn, Rin-Shaw has been making side-dealings with anyone willing to do business. Some of who just so happens to be with those in the Earth Kingdom army."

Katara and Aang gasped, while Sokka was left surprised. However, Severus couldn't help but be suspicious about the whole thing.

"Now, if anyone higher up in command were to discover this, Rin-Shaw would be declared a traitor and stripped of everything. That's my backup plan."

"So, by leveraging his daughter and his dealings with the Fire Nation's enemies, he would have no choice but to listen," Katara's face lit up. "I knew there had to be a reason for this. Though, I do feel sorry for her." She looked at the woman behind her.

"Don't be sorry," Jet placed his hand on her shoulder. "She's no innocent."

"I don't know, Jet," Aang rubbed his neck, trying to make sense of it. "I know you're not going to kill her, but I just don't feel comfortable with any of this."

"Don't worry, kid. She'll be free once her father is out of the valley."

The woman began to scream, which was muffled by the gag in her mouth.

"Um, can't she firebend?" Sokka asked with worry in his voice.

Jet pointed back at her, "See those wet spots? I make sure that oil is poured on her every day."

"Oh... that... works... too..." Sokka back away with a disturbed expression.

Once back outside, Jet turned to face them.

"Look, I'm sorry if this is too much for you. But I really would appreciate your help in this mission tonight. If we raid that convoy and get that money, my back-up plan will assure that they will leave. So, are you guys in?"

"We're in!" Katara and Aang declared at the same time.

Sokka sighed and smiled, "Yes, I'm in."

"Alex?" Jet looked at him next. "With those powers of yours, plus the Avatar, I know there is no chance we can lose."

Though conflicted with himself, Severus nodded, "Alright."

"Nice! Now things are really looking up! Be sure to be ready tonight, because we are taking the convoy."

Except for Severus, everyone nodded.

* * *

Commander Rin-Shaw looked over the maps before him, trying desperately to find any hint of where a good hiding spot the Freedom Fighters would choose. But the problem wasn't that he couldn't find one, but rather that there were too many to choose from. The forest was a haystack, with a needle that could blend in perfectly.

He sighed, frustrated with the problem he was presented with.

" _Coral_ ," he whispered, his voice full of emotion.

"Sir?" he heard a voice from behind, turning to find one of the lieutenants standing in at the entrance of his tent.

"What is it?"

"Just reporting that the convoy is on enroute for Giapan. It will arrive on time, from what the status update says."

Rin-Shaw nodded, "Good. Once the convoy arrives and is sent on its way again, I want everyone searching those woods. Lieutenant Coral must be found, dead or alive."

"Yes sir."

Exiting his tent, he ordered his men to tear it down and begin packing everything up. Getting onto his ostrich horse, he began to rode forward, ahead of his men.

And looking on forward, he saw the village of Giapan before him.

* * *

Once the sun had begun to set, everyone immediately prepared themselves and began rushing through the woods, making way for the road that the convoy was scheduled to cross. Aang and Katara were especially excited for what they were about to do, happy that they were doing something to help fight the Fire Nation. Even Sokka seemed content with what he participating in.

Once arriving, everyone got into position, whether it be in the trees or the bushes, and waited.

An hour went by.

And then a second, making others grow anxious.

"Man, if I went it would be this boring, I would have brought the waterbending scroll," Aang complained.

"Shhh!" Sokka glared at him. "We're going to give us away."

"Guys, we're supposed to be quiet!" Katara whispered.

Severus rolled his eyes as he laid on his back, staring up at the stars, listening to the animals in the night. He struggled not to move, considering the dirt, grass and bugs were moving against his body.

Then he began to hear a distant noise, making him freeze. He recognized the sound of wagons getting closer and closer.

Slowly turning onto his stomach, Severus got a closer look and pulled out his wand, ready for action.

He then began to hear bird sounds, which he found to be dangerously close. It took him an extra second to realize that it was the Freedom Fighters who were doing it. A fact that made him praise their intelligence of being using the art of stealth.

"Hey, I think I hear birds," whispered Aang.

Soon, the convoy came within sight of them and were within seconds of passing them by.

Jet flew out of the trees, holding his hook swords, and took out the two guys in front, knocking them off of their ostrich horses as he rolled against the ground, making another bird cry. The rest of the convoy came to an abrupt stop, not wanting to run over their guys.

All of the Freedom Fighters came rushing out of their hiding spots, beginning their assault.

Severus Snape ran out from the bush he was behind and targeted the first two soldiers he could find, taking them down within a second of each other. He saw Aang, Katara and Sokka joining in as well.

An entire battle broke out as the firebenders tried to fight back, but found themselves being taken out. And before they knew it, the whole thing was over.

Everyone cheered as they began taking the wagons, using the ostrich horses to begin their journey home.

"Is that it?" Aang asked. "I was expecting this to be... well, challenging."

"Yeah," Sokka nodded, having a look of disappointment on his face. "So much for some action."

"Well, better easy than hard," Jet smiled, patting the side of a barrow from one of the three wagons. "Don't be too sad, this is just another step in the mission that brings us closer to victory. But if it makes you feel any better, you all did good."

Katara blushed, which made Severus roll his eyes, "Thanks, Jet."

"No problem. Now, lets get this back home. I think we've all earned a good night's rest."

Finding no problem with that, everyone began heading back to the treetop hideout, along with the wagons in tow.

* * *

Commander Rin-Shaw nodded as he heard the report from one of his men, keeping his face neutral as he faced all of the lower ranking officers in front of them.

"So, they highjacked the convoy and took out a dozen of our best men," he repeated the report out-loud, his voice hinting anger deep within. "And now, not only are our weapons and food in their possession, but they have highly dangerous explosive gel."

"We believe they must have discovered the convoy's schedule from the campsite they attacked yesterday," one of them added.

Rin-Shaw shook his head in frustration and annoyance.

"Now it would appear what their target has been the whole time. By kidnapping Lieutenant Coral, they gain leverage over me. And by stealing explosive gel, they now have the power to cause real problems."

"But what is their plan, sir?"

"I don't know," Rin-Shaw formed a fist with his hand. "But the lives my men are at stake, including my d-" He stopped himself. "First priority is to find their hideout and wipe them out. They know leveraging one of my own won't stop me from going after them, no matter what they do. They're planning something that will eliminate us."

"What should we do, sir?"

"We can't risk waiting anymore, they can attack at any time now. Our best option is to continue searching the woods and tighten security around here. Anything that comes into this village, I want searched. Anyone traveling these roads, I want interrogated. We'll start by burning down the trees, on a contained level. We will find out where they are and burn their home to the ground."

"Yes sir!" all the men chanted at once.

* * *

As Severus made his way towards the large dinning table, which was filled with tons of kids. He took his seat next to Aang, Katara and Sokka, who were all digging into the food presented before them.

"Hey- Alex!" greeted Aang, who was chewing on a piece of fruit.

"Morning!" Katara smiled.

"Hey," said Sokka, who appeared to be more happy than yesterday.

Taking some fruit, he began to eat, quickly realizing that a lot of the children were staring at him now. He tried to ignore it, but ended up meeting the eyes of one boy from the other side of the table, who's face looked as if it was in a trance.

"It's rude to stare!" he growled, making the boy look away.

The rest of the kids averted their eyes at the tone of his voice.

"Oh, don't be such a jerk," Katara giggled. "They're only interested in you."

"They didn't seem like it before."

"That was because they never saw you in action before," said Jet. "Not to mention the rumors that some of them have been hearing about you this morning."

Severus kept quiet, continuing to eat his food.

"And quite frankly, I've been curious too." He leaned forward against the table. "How does one like you gain these _abilities_ of yours?"

"I was born with them," he answered. "It's a common thing where I come from."

"Well, I'm just happy you're on our side. Though I think we could use more like you in this war. I mean, it isn't like you can teach us your skills."

Before Severus could take another bite of his food, his eyes lit up with a realization coming to mind. He began to look around, studying everything around him. The treehouses, the food, the weapons, taking it all in.

 _Skills._

If there was anything he desperately needed, it was to learn new stills. And these guys clearly knew how.

"Jet," he coughed, forcing his pride down on what he was about to do. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

Jet laughed, "A favor? In my opinion, it is I who owes you favor after last night."

"Can you teach me your skills?"

Everyone looked at him with shocked expressions, more specifically from Katara and Aang.

Jet raised an eyebrow, "And when you say skills, you mean-"

"Hunting, fighting, fishing, anything that you can offer."

"And you've never learned these before?"

"Father was nothing more than a drunk-" his eyes widened at the mistake he had just made. He began cursing himself for letting something as personal as that slip from his mouth.

Katara, Aang and Sokka had eyes as big as oranges, unable to believe what they had just heard. Jet's eyes lowered, as if feeling some sympathy for him, which didn't help in his case.

He coughed, "So, can you teach me?"

Jet leaned back in his seat and sighed, nodding, "Alright, I'll teach you." He stood up and began to walk away, picking up his hooked swords. "Follow me."

Despite not done with his breakfast, Severus quickly followed him, actually anxious to get started.

"Hey- wait- for me," Sokka tripped over himself as he tried to get up, his mouth still full of food.

Katara rolled her eyes and laughed with Aang, followed by everyone else as well.

* * *

"Alright, a few of the many keys to learning how to fight... is focus and balance," said Jet, as he rotated his hooked swords, circling both Severus and Sokka on one of the platforms.

Holding onto a sword of their own, they tried lifting the heavy metal.

"You must not think of these things as something separate from yourself. You must become one with your sword, to see it as an extension of yourself. Like an arm, you cannot drop it."

"Mine feels a little too heavy," Sokka complained.

"They're as heavy as they need to be," Jet countered. "When you find your balance, you can do unlimited things with the sword."

Without warning, he brought the side of his hook swords forward and grabbed the feet of his opponents, making them fall over.

"And never assume that the battle will fair," he began to circle them again. "Anticipate any attack and always be moving. A moving target is hard to catch."

Getting back up, both boys had looks of frustration, humiliation.

"Focus on your surroundings and block anything else out. Hold your sword with one arm, focus on its weight and balance."

Following his instructions, they suddenly found themselves being knocked over, with their weapons falling out of their hands.

"Remember, always be vigilant. Lets try again."

* * *

"When it comes to catching fish, you must be quick and observant."

They were standing in the river, struggling to stand against the rushing water that reached up to their chests.

"Balance is the key," Jet stared into the water, arms and hands ready. "Speed can be your weapon."

Suddenly, he reached into the water and came out with a fish, trying in vain to wiggle free.

Following his lead, they attempted to try and failed, missing their targets.

"Come to Sokka, fishy-fishy. You're going to be my meat for the day."

Sokka cried out as he tried second time, missing as the fish came out of the water and smacked him with its tail. Groaning, he fell backwards into the water.

* * *

"Use the leaves and dirt to track your prey. Recognize the difference between what is fresh and what isn't."

Sokka rubbed his neck as he tried to track the animal he believed to be a fire ferret, "Um, how are we do that what we are hunting has made this? For all we know, something else could have stepped right here."

"Look at its print and see if it matches," Jet folded his arms as he leaned against a tree.

"They all look the same to me!"

Severus sighed in frustration as lost track of what he was looking for.

* * *

"Well, at least we can cross off building a fire from the long list of things to learn, " Jet joked.

"Hey, it's a gift," Sokka smiled as he put his hands over the fire he had made.

Severus took his time as he worked at his, quickly getting the hang of it as he got a spark going.

* * *

"Oh Spirits!" Sokka covered his mouth as his face turned purple. "I think I'm gonna- BLAA!"

Even Severus looked as if he was going to be haunted by what he had just seen.

Jet put down his knife and began washing his hands from the stream, "And that is how you skin an animal, boys."

* * *

"Whenever it comes to close quarters, always go for the knife," Jet began doing tricks with the man-made knife in his hands, bringing it up against Sokka's neck, who cried out a bit. "Or anything that is small and be used as a weapon."

He handed the knife over to Severus, who began copying what he did.

* * *

"Alright, write your name with your sword."

They were back to training with swords again, this time on the ground.

"How does writing my name with a sword make me a better swordsman?" Sokka asked.

"Haven't you been listening? It's not _a_ sword, it's _your_ sword. It is part of you. You must stamp your identity on the battlefield."

Facing each other, Severus and Sokka charged at each other, their swords clashing against each other.

* * *

"Good job, boys! Now you know how to properly make animal traps!" Jet smiled.

"Oh yeah! Sokka's awesome! And now my meat will no longer be expensive to buy!" Sokka did a victory dance and turned towards Severus, who was looking at him with caution. "High-five, bro."

"I am not high-fiving you!"

Sokka's face fell as he realized where his right foot was, feeling his own trap get tangled around his leg and shoot him up into the air.

"Um... little help, please..."

* * *

"Always make sure what you pick fruits and vegetables that are healthy for you," Jet cautioned. "Sometimes what may look like berries may end up being something that can cause you to stop breathing. It is important to tell the difference when it comes to nature."

"Hey, Alex," Sokka presented a mysterious type of berries in front of him, smiling. "You want to test them out and see if they're dangerous?"

Severus glared at him, "You do realize I can end your life with _one word_ , right?"

* * *

"Um, why are we fighting with blind folds over our eyes?" Sokka asked, nervously.

"Because you must learn to fight by visualizing your surroundings."

"And last time I checked, that involves actually _seeing_."

"True, but you will find yourself having a second to visualize your surroundings. By practicing this, you'll learn to be observant and quick-thinking."

Grabbing both of their blind folds, Jet pulled them off.

"Alright, look around."

Severus and Sokka shrugged at each other and turned to look at the trees and ground, only for their blind folds to reappear over their eyes.

"Alright, fight!"

"AHHH!" Sokka smiled as he felt his sword hit something. "Ha, got ya!"

"That was a tree," Jet laughed.

"Wait, wha-OW!" he felt something hit him in the back and then felt the same thing on his head, falling over into a black abyss.

* * *

"Hand to hand combat is very important," Jet explained as he punched Sokka in the gut and head locked Severus, flipping him onto his back. "You won't always have weapons to help you."

Sokka threw up as he fell to his knees, "I think I lost the rest of my breakfast."

* * *

"Yes, I got one!" Sokka cheered as he held up the fish he had managed to catch from the river, accidently tripping on a rock and landing face-first into the water, with the fish falling out of his hands. "Sokka, one! Fish... Eh, I lost count."

Both Severus and Jet rolled their eyes, grinning.

Taking his chance, Severus drove into the cold water and felt his hands grab ahold of a fish, pulling out with all of his strength.

"Nice catch!"

* * *

"Good!" Jet was taking on both Severus and Sokka at the same time, impressed with how well they were fighting together against him. "Use your identity! Concentrate and focus!"

* * *

Both Severus and Sokka were doing knife tricks against the trunk of a tree, getting faster as they went at it.

"Alright, now you'll use them against each other," Jet smiled.

Sokka's eyes widened, "Wait-AH! Alex, go easy on me!"

* * *

Sokka and Severus were going at each other in hand to hand combat, throwing their best into it as they fought to no end.

"Wow, I'm impressed" Jet nodded, impressed with them. "I think maybe we should turn this into a three-way standoff."

He cracked his knuckles and jumped right into the match, immediately regretting it when he realized they were going to gang up on him.

* * *

"As long as you are near a river, you can always find a fresh source of water. And always make sure you have water, that's very important. Not to mention if you're ever lost or on the run, rivers always mean civilization is nearby."

"What about when you're in the desert? How do we get water then?" Sokka asked.

Jet's face fell, "Well, I've never been in that situation, so I don't know."

* * *

"When it comes to the bow and arrow, you must aim without tension and only use three fingers to hold the arrow on the string. Focus on nothing but your target, everything else must be ignored."

Sokka and Severus let loose their arrows, missing their targets. They both sighed in frustration.

"Don't worry, this one takes a lot of practice."

"Everything we've done takes a lot of practice," Sokka complained.

"Which is why we're _practicing_."

* * *

As Severus went up against Sokka and Jet in a three-way standoff, he disarmed Sokka and knocked him over, turning his attention fully towards Jet. The two clashed their swords and danced around one another, dodge attack after attack. However, he miscalculated as Jet disarmed him from his sword, making him stumble backwards.

Jet grinned as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, only to find himself being flipped into the air and onto his back, losing his sword in the process. Looking up, he saw Severus's foot just inches away from his throat.

He smiled, "Well done!"

Severus gasped when he felt someone grab him from behind and flipped him backwards, his own weight turning against him as he hit the ground. Staring up, he found a grinning Sokka, who began doing a victory dance.

* * *

They went at the bow and arrow again, this time hitting their targets after the tenth try, feeling a sense of victory at their success.

Doing it over and over, they found themselves getting better at it.

"Um, you guys done yet?" they heard a voice ask, turning around to find Aang and Katara.

"Seriously, you've been going at it all day," Aang pointed up towards the sky, making them realize that the sun had already set and nighttime was slowly taking over.

Jet shrugged and stretched his arms, yawning, "Guess practice is over. We should do this again. Most fun I've had in a while."

"Definitely!" Sokka smiled, while Severus just nodded.

They all made their way back up to the treetop hideout, getting ready for bed.

"You know, I am pretty hungry," said Sokka as he laid down in the hut.

"Good night, Sokka!" everyone called out at the same time.

* * *

Later on during the late night, Sokka woke up to do his business outside, leaving the hut. Going to the ground, he went behind a tree and peed against the trunk of the tree. But then he heard a noise and froze, slowly leaning to the side to look around the corner of the tree.

He saw Jet and Smellerbee coming down from the treetop hideout, landing on the ground.

"You're certain?" he heard Jet ask.

Smellerbee nodded, "Commander Rin-Shaw is currently in Giapan, along with all of his men. And judging from what our spy says, he is planning to burn down the forest."

"He must be desperate to seek us out and destroy us."

"Jet, do you think we're going too far with this? We've already lied to the others about our true intentions-"

"We're driving the Fire Nation out of the valley, just like we promised. I promised I had a plan, and I do."

"Yeah, but... all of those people down there. They'll die if we do this."

"We've tried everything, Smellerbee! We raided their supplies, took out as many of their men as we could, even kidnapped the commander's daughter and it still wasn't enough! At least this way, we can wipe them out with one single strike." He sighed. "Are the barrows ready?"

Smellerbee nodded.

"Good! Get the others and have them wheel the wagons on down to the dam."

Sokka's eyes widened at what he had just heard and kept quiet, hoping to get a look at what was really happening. He watched as Sneers, Pipsqueak, Longshot and the Duke joined them, helping wheel the wagons on down through the forest. Following closely from behind, he began to wonder what it was that they had in the barrows, guessing that it was never gold or food or weapons.

Soon they came to a cliff and began taking the wagons on down a pathway, struggling to make sure nothing fell over.

Looking on over, Sokka saw a dam and then turned to the left, his eyes widening as he saw the village of Giapan down in a small valley. His mind began to form theories about what was happening and he didn't like what they were forming into. He continued to follow them, going straight to the bottom. And when he got a closer look from behind some bushes, he saw the Duke open one of the barrows, revealing explosive gel inside.

He immediately turned around to run, hoping to warn Katara, Aang or Alex. But then he rammed into something hard, and yet soft as well. Falling down on his rear, he looked up and saw Pipsqueak and Smellerbee in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going, ponytail?" Smellerbee asked, bringing a knife up to his throat.

Bringing his hand forward, he snatched the knife out of Smellerbee's hand and delivered a punch to the gut, tripping him to fall on his head. However, before he could make a run for it, the hand of Pipsqueak fell against his head and found himself falling into a deep abyss once again.

* * *

 **Alright, so I've taken a lot of liberties involving the episode of _'Jet'_ from the season 1 of Avatar. And as I've said before, this is one of my top 3 episodes that I don't like (take a good guess what the other two are). But hey, there are only three I dislike out of the 61 episodes, so that's a good deal. And all three happen to be in season 1.**

 **The reason why I don't like the episode of _'Jet'_ is because I was never really a fan of the character to begin with. They tried to make him sympathetic, but I never really could find anything to get emotionally involved with him. Add the fact he tried to commit mass murder and he ends up being a character who could literally die and I wouldn't care. Oh wait, he did!**

 **With this I wanted to go a bit of a different direction and hopefully give the character more justice. And yes, there are ton of other changes as well. Original material that was never in the cartoon. And I promise that there is a reason for it, I just can't reveal it here (for SPOILER! reasons).**

 **Also, I apologize for any grammar errors, plus continuity problems. I will try to make changes/updates when I can.**

 **If you guys want I highly recommend checking out my other two stories, _Redemption_ and _The Unknown Hero._**

 **Appreciate the reviews, and I'll see you guys in Chapter 18!**


	18. Shame & Guilt

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Like I said before, don't get used to these updates. I actually didn't plan for this one to be done so early, but since I managed to get a food grove on and start writing away, I figured why not release this one.**

 **Hope you're all enjoying the story and the direction I'm going in. And as I've said, there will be changes along the way. Especially in this chapter.**

 **DISCLAIMER: "I do not own _Harry Potter_ or _Avatar: The Last Airbender_!"**

 **Enjoy Chapter 18! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen:**

 **Shame & Guilt**

* * *

Darkness filled the void of Sokka's world, unable to understand what was going on or what had happened. He could hear voices, beginning as whispers before getting louder as time passed. Light began to appear, blurry and unclear. But soon enough, all of his senses came back, allowing for him to take in everything. He recognized the light of the moon and the darkness of the night around him.

The first thing he felt was pain, coming from his head. Lifting his hand to touch the source, he felt something restrict him from doing so. Trying again, he quickly realized that his arms were tied up behind his back, and that his body was on the ground. Looking up, he saw a giant, wooden wall in front of him.

 _The dam!_

His eyes widened as he looked around and found the Freedom Fighters setting barrels all around the wall, even painting certain sides with the liquid material that was inside of them.

"Hello, Sokka," greeted a voice.

Turning to its source, his eyes met Jet, who was sitting on a huge rock, looking down on him.

"I'm sorry you had to see this. I planned for you and the others to find out after it happened."

Sokka glared at him, struggling to get free of his bounds.

"I know what you must be thinking right now, but please, let me ex-" Jet closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Oh, save it for someone else, Jet!" Sokka spat. "No need to explain, I get what's going on here. You plan to blowup the dam and flood the entire valley."

"It's the only way."

"The only way for what? To murder innocent people?"

"To save the valley," Jet looked up, keeping his expression firm. "This will wipe out the Fire Nation forces and drive them away."

"There are mothers, fathers and children down there as well, Jet! Nothing you can say will justice this!"

"It's for the grea-" he stopped himself, sighing. "I was hoping you would understand. But now I see you've made your choice."

Smellerbee and Pipsqueak appeared right next to him.

"What do you want to do with him?" Smellerbee asked.

"Put him with the Fire Nation scum," Jet hopped off the rock. "But don't let anyone see you."

Pipsqueak walked up to Sokka and picked him up, "Sorry about this. Nothing personal."

Before he could reply, a large fist slightly knocked him on the head, falling unconscious once more.

* * *

Severus, Aang and Katara sat at the dinner table, surrounded by other kids as they ate.

"I wonder where Sokka is," Katara frowned as she looked around. "I was expecting him to be here."

"Probably with Jet," replied Aang.

"Actually, he's off on a mission with some of the others," Jet answered as he approached them from behind.

"Oh, okay," Katara blushed. "What's the mission this time? Did something happen?"

Jet nodded, "The Fire Nation is planning to burn down the forest, so that they find out where we are. I sent the Freedom Fighters to fight them, along with Sokka as well. I was surprised when he volunteered."

"Well, I'm happy he's cooled off now. He can be really stubborn sometimes."

Jet dropped to knees, "Hey, I was wondering if you guys could help me with something."

"Anything, Jet!" the girl's eyes sparkled, making Severus roll his eyes and sneer.

"What do you need us to do?" Aang leaned over next to Katara's shoulder.

"With the Fire Nation trying to burn down the forest, I think it would be in our best interests to unleash some trapped water under these events I've managed to find. However, I need a waterbender to do it. And it so happens you two are perfect for the job."

Katara's smile faded, "I... I don't know, Jet. I'm not that powerful."

"Katara," Jet leaned in, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You can do it. I have faith in you."

She smiled and blushed at the same time, playing her with hair.

Aang took notice of this and glared at them, "Yeah, Katara. With _both of us_ , we can definitely do it."

Severus withheld a snicker, trying hard not to laugh at the boy's jealousy. Not to mention how long it took him to notice how Jet was putting the moves on Katara.

"That's good to hear," Jet stood up. "Best we get started as soon as possible. Follow me to the spot I told you about."

Just as Aang and Katara got up to leave, Severus turned around, "Hey, Jet. Before you go, can we resume my training when you get back with Sokka. I want to keep going at it some more."

Jet grinned and nodded, "Sure thing. But I make no promises though. Today might turn out to be a busy day."

Nodding back, he watched as the three of them left before going back to his small meal.

Afterwards, he started walking back to the hut, until he heard a conversation that caught his ear.

"-if they find out what we did?"

"Jet's got it covered-"

Stopping, he turned to look up, seeing Smellerbee with the Duke and Pipsqueak on a platform just across from him and a little higher up. Wanting to get closer, he silently took a zip line towards the other side, just below them. Standing under where they were, he listened in on what they were saying.

"Just keep watch and make sure he doesn't escape. And don't let anyone in."

"You got it," Pipsqueak declared.

Waiting until Smellerbee left, he climbed on up to the floor above and slowly approached the two.

"Um, Duke, can I ask you something?"

The little boy nodded as he wiped his nose.

"Do you think what Jet is doing is wrong? I mean, it's one thing to attack Fire Nation soldiers and all, but flooding an entire village with women and children? I just feel like this is one of things we shouldn't do."

"I don't know. I mean, I feel the same way, but Jet has a point that we tried everything we that could and we still can't get them to leave. Those people down there choose to do nothing against them. It just feels like what traitors do."

"Yeah, but still-"

Suddenly, they saw a light from their left side, making them turn to find a fire at the edge of the platform. Rushing forward, they tried to put it out. However, unknown to them, a figure quickly pulled himself up from the other side and silently ran to the entrance of the hut, entering it.

Once inside, Severus's eyes widened at the sight of Sokka tied up and gagged, alongside the Fire Nation captive.

Sokka tried to speak, but his voice was muffled.

Rushing forward, he took out the gag and began to untie him, while the Fire Nation woman began moaning, hoping he will do the same to her.

"What happened?" Severus demanded.

"I found out that Jet plans to blow up the dam. He lied to us, Alex. Those barrels we helped them take from the convoy... they never had any money in them. They're filled with explosive gel. And worse, the dam is right in front of the valley surrounding Giapan."

Severus sighed, "So that was his plan all along! He kidnapped the commander's daughter to lure him here and set a trap. A genius one, I might add."

"Genius?" Sokka's mouth dropped. "How can you say that?!"

"I didn't mean it as a good thing. Just because he's wrong about doing this doesn't mean the plan itself isn't smart."

"Smart or not, we need to get to the dam and stop him!"

Once free, Sokka rubbed his sore wrists as he got up and began making a run for the exit with Severus, only to find their way blocked by Pipsqueak and the Duke.

"Sorry guys, but we can't let you go," Pipsqueak declared.

Silently cursing himself for not bringing his wand, he prepared his hands and wordlessly double casted a _Stupefy_ at the two of them, knocking both out.

"I can never get over how you can do that," said Sokka.

"Lead the way."

Nodding, Sokka stepped over the two Freedom Fighters and exited the hut, with Severus in tow.

* * *

"Well, that's more than enough," Aang announced as he stretched his arms. "And I'm not just saying that to be lazy."

Looking at the number of events they had opened up with their waterbender since Jet led them to the riverbank, the two nodded in agreement. Smiling with delight as the river flowed with large amounts of rushing water.

"Let's go meet up with Jet at the reservoir."

"Um, didn't he want us to meet up with him back at the hideout?"

"Well, we finished early," Katara smiled. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see us."

Aang's face dropped, "Yeah, I'm sure he will."

"Come on, lets go."

* * *

Severus and Sokka ran as fast as they could, ignoring the throbbing pain from their legs and lungs as they pushed themselves to hurry. Soon, they arrived at the cliff, overlooking the dam and the valley.

"We need to get down there and stop him!" Sokka declared.

"You go on ahead," Severus turned towards the village of Giapan. "I'll catch up."

Sokka frowned, "Alex, I'm going to need you on this. Jet won't listen to us, but maybe we can get his followers to listen. Maybe get them to listen to you."

"Just go! I need to try something!"

Wanting to protest, Sokka sighed and began running down the pathway of the cliff.

Getting into a stance, he focused on the village and slowly began chanting a spell.

* * *

As Katara and Aang approached the reservoir, they were stunned to find a dam there, with several of the Freedom Fighters stacking barrels in front of it.

"Hey, what's going on?" Aang called out.

Everyone turned towards them, surprised that they were there.

Among them, Jet appeared, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Katara? Aang? I thought I told you to head back to the hideout!"

"Jet, what's going on?" Katara demanded, taking in everything around them. "What's in those barrels? And why are you putting them in front of the dam?"

Aang's eyes widened as he recognized the gel that was painted on the wooden wall.

"Katara, that's exploding jelly!"

The waterbender gasped, "Why would you need that?"

"Because he's-"

"Going to blow up the dam!" voice cried out from behind, making them turn to find Sokka running towards them, stopping as he reach Katara and Aang. "Tell them, Jet! Tell them what you told me before tying me up with the Fire Nation lady back at the hideout!"

Katara's eyes began to tear up, trying to comprehend what she hearing and seeing, "Jet- you wouldn't-"

Jet lowered his head and sighed, before facing her again, "What he says is true. We're going to blow the dam and flood the valley, wash the Fire Nation away."

"You- you wouldn't do that!" she began to silently sob.

"Yes, I would, Katara. I'm sorry that you had to find out like this. I didn't mean to lie to you about what my real plans were. I was hoping... that maybe afterwards... you would understand. But... we need to do this. If we don't, the Fire Nation will burn this place down and ruin our chance at stopping them."

"I thought you were about the people!" the girl cried out, losing herself in her mixed emotions. "I thought you were better than the Fire Nation! When I saw you with those kids back at the hideout, giving a speech that inspired them... I thought you were different!"

"Everyone you see here has been through the same things as you, Katara!" Jet yelled, his eyes filled with hatred and rage. "We've lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, families, our lives! All because of them! When they attacked, no one was there to stop them! When we struck back, it was us who were the enemy! What kind of justice is that?! The bullies doing whatever they want and getting away with it, while the people who suffer can't lift a finger without being called a criminal?! I'm doing this to free the valley from them!"

"You're a hypocrite if you believe that!" Sokka countered. "Who will be left if you do this? Who will truly be free? The very people who live in these lands will die as well!"

"You can't do this, Jet!" declared Aang. "Nothing good will come from this."

"WHAT I'M DOING IS FOR _THE GREATER GOOD!_ " Jet screamed at the top of his lungs, letting out of the contained anger he was holding.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters stared at them, conflicted and confused. Some looking towards each other as they began to wonder who was right and who was wrong.

" _The greater good,_ " came another voice from behind them, restating the words. "Now where have I heard that excuse before?"

Everyone turned to see Severus standing a couple of feet away, sweat rolling down his forehead and arms.

"You claim your doing this for the greater good. But the greater good of what, exactly? Yourself? Is this all just to make yourself feel justified in hurting others? To unleash that hatred you hold within? Or is to make things easier?"

Jet glared, "You don't understand, Alex. None of you do."

Severus scoffed, beginning to laugh, "Oh, trust me, I understand more than you think."

"No, you don't!"

Severus looked him in the eyes, slowly walking forward.

"You feel cheated. All of you. In some way, you believe you have the right to be mad at the world, for all the things that have happened to you. Whether it be someone you lost or something you were denied to experience in life, your tormentors only left pain and anger behind for you to bare. But it wasn't what they did that drove you past the breaking point, it was that they got away with it. Without a single bit of justice being served to punish them for what they did."

The Freedom Fighters looked at each other, from sad to angry expressions, the words hit home for them all.

Except for Severus's voice, everything grew silent as the sky turned yellow and orange from the setting sun in the distance.

"And maybe you have the right to feel that way. To want justice or revenge. So you go out of your way to make sure no one can hurt you ever again, vowing to take your anger out on those responsible for your hardships and pain."

Jet's head lowered.

"But sooner or later, that anger, that bitterness, that one thing that keeps the hate alive inside... it changes you. You find yourself hurting others in your journey to get vengeance against those who wronged you. You take joy in it, including the fact that you have the will and power to inflict it. But you can't see the damage you leave in your wake, because you can't let go. All you can think of and remember is what they did to you. You're need to make them pay always grows stronger, a need that will become your mirror of obsession."

He paused, feeling his heart tighten in his chest and his eyes threating to unleash tears that were building up. Fear, regret, shame and guilt all rushed in at once as a memory resurfaced within his mind.

"And then one day, you find yourself crossing a line. A line that will shatter that mirror. Slowly making you realize that what you hate the most is what you are becoming. Your right to be angry at the world will no longer outweigh your heart. The burden of regret and pain will begin to crush you. And just when you think you can't endure anymore hardships, you find yourself against one more painful than anything you have ever felt before. You will beg for forgiveness. You will beg for release from this pain."

All of the Freedom Fighters were looking down at the ground, including Jet. While Aang, Katara and Sokka looked at Severus with confused, shocked expressions.

"But none shall be granted. Because deep down, you know you deserve this. Maybe at first, you will deny it and try to justify yourself. But you will realize that it is no longer the blame that points towards your enemies... it now points towards you. And slowly, you will come to the conclusion that it is you who must pay. That it is you who must live with this burden for the rest of your days. And the times you remember of what the world has done to you, no longer holds any influence or justification."

He was now standing in front of Jet, meeting his eyes as he looked up at him.

"If you do this, you'll just be more the same as the very people who took your parents. You'll just be another tyrant, who thinks avenging his pain is worth more than the people he will hurt in his path."

Something broke within Jet as he stared into his eyes, a look that told him everything he needed to know. It felt as if an entire pathway of mirrors were being shattered all at once, a realization hitting him in the face.

Getting himself together, he turned to his Freedom Fighter and nodded towards them, "Let's get these barrels away from here. And someone get the gel off of the wood."

"We'll handle that," said Katara as grabbed Aang's hand and walked towards the dam, beginning to use their waterbending to remove the gel.

As the rest of the Freedom Fighters got to work, a kid came running from the woods down ahead.

"The Fire Nation is coming! The Fire Nation is coming!"

Jet's eyes shot wide open, "You're sure?"

The kid came to a stop, breathing heavily, "Yes, I counted a few of them! A small scouting group!"

"How long until they get here-"

"Hold it right there!" a voice commanded, making them all turn to a group of ten firebenders heading their way.

Jet grabbed ahold of his swords and charged towards them, "Keep working on removing those barrels!"

Severus and Sokka joined him as they ran at their opponent, hoping to keep them busy while the others did their job.

Jet managed to take down three, using his hook swords to trip two and head-butt another. Sokka used his club to whack one soldier on the head, dodging a few fireballs that were sent his way. Severus took four down with the _Stupefy_ charm, turning to face the final two who were left.

Aiming for both, his eyes widened as the other took aim at the Freedom Fighters, already forming a fireball in his hand. Acting as quickly as he could, he casted two _Stupefys_ and hit them, redirecting the fireball as it flew out of the one soldier's hand. But its change wasn't enough as it flew into the air and hit the side of the dam, causing one of the barrels to explode.

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and froze, staring at the explosion with wide eyes.

A few seconds went by and nothing happened, revealing that the barrel was too far away to cause a chain reaction with the others. But then a loud cracking sound echoed around them, with water breaking through the wood.

"Everyone, run up the cliff! Get to higher ground!" Sokka shouted.

Without being told twice, everyone made a run for the pathway up the cliff, hearing the whole dam beginning to break from the force of the water. Just as Severus and Jet were the last ones making their way up, the whole dam broke and a large wave of water came rushing out at high speed, washing away everything within its path.

Once reaching the top of the cliff, they all started out towards the valley, watching as the water overtook everything.

Katara closed her eyes and felt the tears flow down her cheeks, immediately turning towards Jet with pure disgust and anger.

"JET, YOU MONSTER!" she cried, punching him in the chest. "YOU KILLED THEM!"

"No, Katara, look!" Sokka grabbed ahold of her and showed her what was happening.

Everyone watched with shock as the water began to circle around the village and its surrounding fields, refusing to come anywhere near it. As if a shield was protecting it.

"What-" Jet was at a loss of words. "How- how is that possible?"

Severus sighed with relief, "Looks like my protection charm worked, despite not having my wand with me."

" _You_ did that?!" Smellerbee's mouth dropped.

Jet slowly turned to face him, his face full of shock and fear, "What- How- _Who are you?! What are you?!_ "

Severus rolled his eyes as he remembered Zuko once demanding the same questions.

"The protection charm will keep the waters from entering, just long enough until the river has receded."

"So, everyone there is safe?" Katara asked, hope and relief in her voice.

Severus nodded, "Anyone within the perimeter of the shield is safe. But those outside of it... I'm afraid there was nothing I could do for them."

As they watched the water continue to flood the valley and begin to recede, Severus turned towards the woods behind them, "We should get back, before they send out search parties. They'll know it was us who was responsible."

"You mean, _them_ who were responsible," Katara whispered under her breath, sending chills down Jet and all of the Freedom Fighters' spines.

Severus ignored her comment as he began walking away, being followed by everyone else into the forest.

Only Jet remained, looking out towards the valley before him. His heart sank at the sight of the water covering everything, unable to fathom that it was he who put this into motion and almost went head in doing it on purpose. He silently thanked the Spirits for Alex being there to put the shield or whatever he called it over the village.

But as he stood there, a realization slowly entered his mind and heart, making everything darken around him. He felt something he hadn't felt in so long. A feeling that suddenly turned his chest into a bottomless pit, sucking everything into it. He felt as if he would cry and possibly throw-up, unable to face the reality of what had just happened. What _could_ have happened.

The words from Severus's speech sank in and he began to feel so much regret, fear, shame and guilt in those seconds that felt like eternity. Even the day of his parents' deaths couldn't amount to what he was currently feeling. A feeling that he would always remember for the rest of his days. Even if his original plan didn't succeed, he was left with a picture of what would have happened if he had.

Turning away in shame and guilt, he began making his way back to the hideout, head hanging low.

* * *

 **So, how'd you like it?**

 **I really wanted to change things up a bit and add my own version from the _'Jet'_ episode. As I said, not a fan of the character or the episode that much. I apologize for omitting parts that were in the cartoon.**

 **The speech from Severus to the Freedom Fighters was heavily inspired from a scene in _The Blacklist,_ episode ' _The Stewmaker_ ' (number 1x04). In it, Raymond Reddington tells a story to the episode's main antagonist at the end. I won't spoil it, but I wanted to do something similar in this chapter.**

 **Special thanks to everyone who has left a review and for adding this story to your ' _Favs/Alert'_ lists.**

 **I apologize for any grammar problems. I'm trying to work on it and get them fixed, including any continuity errors.**

 **If you guys are interested, please check out my other stories, _Redemption_ and the _Unknown Hero_. Both of them involve a similar premise with Severus Snape as a teenager.**

 **See you guys Chapter 19! ;)**


	19. The Burning Hideout

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Hey guys! So sorry for the late delay in updating. Been busy with a lot of stuff and it's only getting busier with the holidays coming. But I was able to get this chapter finished and ready to go.**

 **Hope you all are enjoying the story and it's other two installments as well.**

 **This chapter will be completely origin, similar to the previous. Like I said, I wanted to take liberties on this one. I will be doing the same with future chapters ahead.**

 **Please enjoy Chapter 19!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen:**

 **The Burning Hideout**

* * *

As the sun began to lower over the village of Giapan, Commander Rin-Shaw walked amongst his men of the camp they had setup at the entrance of the town. Since arriving with his forces, they kept everything under lockdown.

"Are the men well rested and ready?"

"Yes, sir!" responded one of his lower ranking officials.

Nodding, he turned to face them, "Good. Because we start-"

He paused at the sound of an explosion from across the valley, making everyone stop what they were doing. Soldiers picked up their spears and swords, ready for an attack. The villagers ran back into their homes, closing their doors and windows.

A few second passed in silence, until a new sound began to reach the ears of everyone in the village. Getting louder by each second.

As everyone turned towards the direction it was coming from, Rin-Shaw's eyes widened. Some of the men began to drop their weapons and attempted to run away, while others remained frozen where they were.

Rushing towards the village at incredible speed, a large body of water was flooding the valley, devouring everything in its path.

Pushing aside the moment of surprise, Rin-Shaw slightly smiled as he began putting the pieces together.

Sighing, he closed his eyes.

 _I should have known! Well played, Freedom Fighters._

But just as he accepted his seemingly defeat, he frowned when he realized that the wave never struck him in the moments that followed. Opening his eyes, he was left shocked by the sight of the water being held at bay by some invisible force, protecting everyone within. His eyes followed the water as it went around the village in a circle.

"Sir... how is this possible?" one of his men asked, unable to believe what they were all witnessing.

Rin-Shaw forced himself to focus and turned towards them, keeping a firm authority in his voice, "Get the soldiers ready now! We're burning the forest after the water recedes! I want everyone searching for those kids! This was their attack to wipe us out, and they nearly succeeded! We must retaliate as soon as possible!"

Though still in shock, they all nodded and began dispersing among the soldiers, giving out their orders.

Looking back towards where the dam used to be, his eyes narrowed towards the forest that lied beyond.

* * *

As everyone walked back to the hideout, an awkward silence filled the air around them. While no one talked, the tension was there. And even Severus felt uncomfortable by it.

Katara tried to keep a good distance from the Freedom Fighters, forcing Aang, Sokka and Severus to keep up with her.

"Um, Katara, you're kinda leaving them in the dust," Aang pointed behind them with his thumb.

 _"Good!"_ she hissed, making Severus worried.

"While we have a the moment to ourselves, I think we should decide what to do now," Sokka whispered.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

"What I mean is that we should start talking about what just happened and what action we should take concerning it. Jet manipulated all of us, including me, and then tried to flood an entire village behind our backs. Staying with them any longer would not be a good idea."

"Glad we could agree on something," Katara replied, angrily.

"Yeah, even I agree that what they just tried to do does disturb me," added Aang.

Severus remained quiet as he lost himself deep within his thoughts, turning to look at the Freedom Fighters behind him. He saw their heads hanging low, with the presence of regret and sadness surrounding them. Just the sight itself reminded him of how he would spend his private moments.

Conflicted, he pushed aside his emotions and turned his attention back to the three of them.

"We should help them," he said out loud, feeling a little humiliated and unsure of himself in expressing such an opinion.

Slowing down their pace, they turned to look at him in shock.

"What do you mean, _help them_?" demanded Katara, her eyes full of anger.

"I'm saying that we should stay a little longer and help them," he locked eyes with hers, refusing to look away.

"Uh, no! I say we should leave as soon as possible" Sokka declared.

"They aren't good people, Alex!" Katara glared at him. "Those were mothers, fathers, children, and families down there! They were going to wipe them out!"

"I'm not saying that they are," he continued to stare deep into her eyes. "But I'm also believe that they aren't bad either. They're all young, angry kids, who've had the worst in life. Nothing but bad experiences."

"And that makes everything alright?!" she shouted.

"No, it doesn't!" he felt his patience running thin. "Their actions can never be justified in what they just tried to do!"

"Then why are you defending them?!"

"Because they if no one helps them now, then who will? We can't just criticize them and then just leave."

"What do you see in them?!" Katara cried out.

Severus closed his eyes and formed fists with his hands, raising them in frustration.

"What is it you want _me_ to do, Lily?! Just ignore them like others do to me?!"

Aang, Sokka and Katara stared at him, their mouths wide open.

"What did you call me?" Katara asked, her anger replaced with confusion and curiosity.

Severus slowly realized what he had just said and turned away, cursing himself for losing control like he did.

The rest of the way was led by awkward silence from everyone as the sun lowered on the horizon.

* * *

Once arriving back at the hideout, the group immediately retreated to their hut and quickly made the decision to leave in the morning, hoping to get some rest for the night. And although Severus was against the decision, he didn't speak since his fight with Katara and kept to himself in the corner of the hut.

As the hours went by, sleep refused to come to Severus as he stared at the ceiling above him. Hearing the snores coming from Sokka, he sighed and got up, stepping outside for some fresh air. Walking towards the edge of the platform, he stared out into the darkness of the forest before him.

The peacefulness of the night calmed him as he stood there.

As time went by, he failed to notice a figure approaching him from the side.

"Hey," a voice called out.

Severus turned and saw Jet.

"Couldn't sleep?" the boy asked, feeling uncomfortable with the silence between them.

Though a little annoyed by the disturbance, he nodded and turned away, hoping he would leave.

However, he heard the boy's footsteps approach and stop, feeling his presence just a foot away from him.

"So, I'm right to assume that you're leaving in the morning?"

Severus sneered, "Yes."

Jet nodded, feeling sad at the thought.

Severus sighed as he felt irritated by the boy's presence. He wanted nothing more than for him to leave. But he refused for anything negative to leave his lips.

"What you said back there," Jet began. "About feeling angry at the world and how life isn't fair... I've never had anything explain my life like the way you put it. And it wasn't just the words, it was the way how you said them. It almost sounded as if I was saying right back at me."

Severus slightly shook his head, sneering.

"If you hadn't saved the village, I would have been a murderer... a killer. Just like those firebenders." He turned to look at him with gratitude. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," he whispered. "It's not necessary."

"It is for me."

Frustrated, he turned to face him, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Jet's face dropped as he averted his eyes in shame.

"I get why you did it, but you seriously never gave thought to the people you would have hurt by flooding the village? Did you seriously believe that killing innocents would be justifiable in getting your revenge? For this one simple goal? Because let me tell ya, one simple goal in life doesn't just make everything better once you're achieved it!"

"You think I don't know that now?" Jet muttered, looking back at him. "I was stupid, angry and blind! I admit it, alright! All I could think about was what they took from me and how they were allowed to go about without punishment. All I saw was people who were living amongst the enemy who started this war that has taken so much from us. I just... I just saw targets to satisfy my need to make them pay, no matter the cost."

Severus's eyes and heart softened at the boy's word. He was reminded of what he had gone through. But even his past experiences could never amount to what Jet and the others had lived with.

Jet sighed, "I've decided to disband the Freedom Fighters. I'm going to tell the others tomorrow, and go our separate ways."

Severus's eyes widened, unsure how to respond.

"You're sure this what you want?"

Jet shrugged, "It's not what I want. It's more about atoning for my mistakes. To make things right."

Severus stared at him.

Before long, he began to chuckle and shake his head.

Jet frowned, "That wasn't suppose to be a joke."

"Oh, I'm well aware. I'm just thinking of how terrible of an idea your plan for _atonement_ is."

Jet narrowed his eyes at him, angered by his reaction.

Calming down, Severus stared at him with serious eyes.

"Disbanding the Freedom Fighters won't help you atone for anything. In fact, it'll only destroy any good you've done so far."

Jet stared back at him with confusion.

"I don't know what other mistakes you've done, and quiet frankly, I don't care. It's none of my business. But what happened at the dam wasn't one of them. Maybe you're at fault for attempting such a thing, but you never went ahead with it. No one got hurt, with the exception of the firebenders who were really responsible."

Jet lowered his eyes, letting his words sink in.

"Disbanding this group is a terrible idea, because it's based on your need to make yourself feel better. It's nothing more than a selfish reason... like my decisions have been."

He felt so exposed in opening up the way he did, making his Slytherin side rant within.

Jet looked back up at him.

"The Freedom Fighters aren't just about you and this little gang of yours, it's about all of these kids who are just like you. You took them in when they had no home, and defended them when no one else would. You created something that works. Something they desperately need right now."

He took a step forward, staring deep into his eyes.

"If you throw all of this away, you'll leave them at the mercy of those who will hurt them. You want to do something about that anger?" he pressed his finger against his chest, feeling his heart pumping. "Then use it to help those who can't defend themselves."

The two stared at one another, letting the moment pass between them.

But then Severus smelt something that made him turn his head to the forest. He sniffed the air, trying to get a good scent. Then his eyes widened at the recognition of the smell.

Jet frowned, "What is it?"

His question was quickly answered as he smelt it too, quickly arming himself with his hook swords.

It didn't take long for the smell to get stronger with each passing second. The sound of wood burning got louder, and a orange light began lighting up the darkness ahead. Animals were running on the ground, sensing the danger that was heading their way.

"Get your Freedom Fighters and wake the others!" Severus ordered. "We need to get a move on, now!"

"No!" Jet shook his head. "We'll defend our home! They won't take this one from us!"

Severus grabbed him by the shoulders, "The idea of the hideout was to _hide._ It won't be long before they discover this place. Wake everyone and evacuate the area as quick as possible. Only carry what you can."

Though he wanted to protest and fight against the coming enemy, Jet nodded. Leaping off the platform, he used one of his hook swords to slide down a zip-line and landed on another, ringing a bell as loud as he could.

Severus rushed into the hut, shaking Katara, Aang and Sokka awake.

"Alex?" Katara rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Aang yawned as he stretched his arms, "Is it morning already?"

"Ah, ten more... minutes... Gran-Gran," Sokka smiled in his half-awake state, drooling on the wooden floor. "Sleepy... time."

Severus rolled his eyes, "Unless if you want to be burnt to a crisp, I highly recommend sleeping someplace else."

"WHAT?!" all three teens shouted at the same time, immediately on their feet.

"The Fire Nation is attacking the forest and they're heading straight towards us," Severus grabbed his wand from his sleeping spot. "We need to get going on!"

Without having to be told twice, they began grabbing their things and exiting the hut, beginning to make the climb to the top of the trees. Where Appa and Momo were at.

"Wait!" he cried out, making them stop. "We need to help Jet and the others evacuate."

Katara scoffed, "Why should we? They seem to know how to fend for themselves if they were willing to cause such a problem."

Severus glared at her, "How about saving the lives of those who weren't involved with Jet's plan for the village? Are you going to abandon them for your own anger towards him?"

Katara's face fell as she turned away in shame. Sokka approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder, sharing a silent nod between them. She turned her eyes to Severus, "Aright, we'll help."

Severus pointed towards Katara and Aang, "You two will fly on Appa to try and contain the fire! Buy us as much time as you can, while Sokka and I go help Jet and the others evacuate! Got it?!"

"Yes!" all three of them said at once.

While Sokka and Severus headed off to find the Freedom Fighters, Aang and Katara climbed to the top of the tree with their stuff and boarded a sleeping Appa, who awoke with a grunt.

They found Jet and the others helping kids climb down a series of a rope ladders to the ground, telling them to head in the opposite direction of the in-coming fire.

"Alex! Sokka!" Jet cried out to them as they approached. "Go to the bottom and protect the kids from any Fire Nation scout teams!"

Nodding, they climbed their way to the bottom and stood in front of the rope ladders with a few of the other Freedom Fighters who were there with them. Sokka prepared his boomerang and club. Severus took aim with his wand, ready for a fight.

"Can't see a thing," Sokka coughed as the smoke began to cover everything around them.

They heard a roar and realized that Appa was heading towards the fire.

Moments passed as the sound of children crying and the wood cracking from the heat of the fire in the distance echoed everywhere. But then they all began to hear footsteps, and the sound of fire being casted into the trees. And before long, they saw shapes in the smoke ahead.

"There they are!"

"We found them!"

"Charge!"

Readying himself, Severus glared at the figures as they came running out from the smoke, casting a few spells to take them down.

"For the Fire Nation!" one of the soldier shouted, shooting fire from his hands at them.

Sokka judged the attack and threw his boomerang, knocking the attacker out.

Smellerbee, the Duke and Pipsqueak engaged their enemy, shouting battle cries as steel meet steel.

From above, Longshot fired a couple of arrows, hitting his targets with ease.

Severus noticed something from his left side and saw that three Fire Nation soldiers were flanking them, making a run for the children. Turning his attention to them, he took down two with a _Stupefy_ , but missed the third as he shot a fireball at a little girl. Acting quickly, he performed a protection spell, saving the girl's life as the force field kept the flames from touching her.

Casting another stunner charm, he took out the soldier.

The girl turned towards him, shocked and scared, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"GO!" Severus shouted. "Follow the others!"

The girl was still frozen with fear as continued to stare at him. A much older boy grabbed ahold of her and began to run off into the darkness ahead.

Turning his attention to the battle, he dodged a sword that swung for his side, just missing him by inches. He took the soldier down with a stunner charm and rolled to his side, preparing for another attack. But he found that the battle had come to an end in their favor.

Jet dropped to the ground with the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"That's the last of them," he declared. "Now, lets get out of here!"

Suddenly, they heard a woman screaming from high above.

Both Severus and Jet's eyes widened as they realized who it was.

"Go!" Jet ordered the others. "I'll meet up with you later!"

"Not without you, Jet!" Smellerbee declared.

"Go, I'll be along shortly!" Jet began to climb the rope ladder, being followed by Severus.

The Freedom Fighters and Sokka began making a run into the forest, following the trail of the kids as the fire began to get closer to the hideout. And with the fire, new figures. Lots of them.

Reaching the hut where the screaming was coming from, Jet and Severus entered, finding the Fire Nation woman trying to free herself from her bounds as she struggled to breath.

Cutting her loose, Jet and Severus led her outside of the hut, about to climb back down until she brought her fist into Severus's face, making him fall to one knee. The woman then lounged herself towards Jet, who dodged her. Despite missing him, she grabbed ahold of a knife from his back pocket, holding it in front of her.

The woman glared at Jet, breathing heavily.

"We're not going to hurt you," Jet tried to reassure her.

Crying out with determination, the woman lounged forward with the knife, aiming for chest. However, Jet was too quick for her as he moved out of the way, just inches from feeling the blade touching his flesh. His eyes widened as he realized that the woman's force brought her directly over the edge.

Severus tried to grab ahold of her, but was too late as she went over the platform.

Moving to the edge, they looked down and saw her body on the ground, her back to them as blood began to circle her.

Closing their eyes, they let a moment of silence pass.

Then they saw a figure rushing forwards the body of the woman, being followed a couple of Fire Nation soldiers.

* * *

Commander Rin-Shaw led the campaign as his soldiers began burning the forest before them. After many hours of searching and making sure not to leave a single place unchecked or untouched, he received word that one of the scouts had discovered the location of the hideout. With the news in hand, he gave the order for everyone to close in on the location.

The moment they had arrived, he ordered for his men to find Lieutenant Coral before burning the hideout to the ground.

But not long after they began searching the seemingly abandoned hideout, he saw three figures on a plateform high above them, watching as a fight broke out. It was then that he recognized one of the figures by their hair, quickly ordering his men to move in. And then he saw the figure fall from the platform, hearing a thud from where he was.

With his heart racing and his mind focused on one thing, he rushed forward, ignoring his men who begged him to stay with them.

He ran for the figure and his heart broke as he recognized his daughter. Moving his hands under her neck and legs, he shook her, hoping she would wake. But nothing happened in the seconds that followed.

Feeling the tears come, he closed his eyes and held his daughter's body close to his chest. Soon, the tears broke through and he allowed them to flow, falling onto his daughter's head. But in his moment of grief, he quickly remembered the other two figures high above.

Looking up, with his daughter's body still in his arms, he saw the two figures looking down on him.

Immediately, he felt a rage rise within him. He glared at them with deep hatred. And he saw nothing but their faces.

He recognized the description of Jet, the leader of the Freedom Fighters. But the second, he had trouble putting a face to. It wasn't until he saw the stick in his hand and the mysterious robes he wore that he was able to deduce his identity.

 _The Mysterious Traveler!_

He got to his feet, keeping ahold of his daughter as he kept his eyes on them.

"Burn the place to the ground!" he ordered. "And make sure those two go with it!"

His men nodded as they began to set fire to everything, aiming directly at the two figures above.

* * *

"RUN!" Jet cried out, making a run for the other side of the platform as fire began to consume everything. Making the jump, he used one of hook sword to catch ahold of a zip-line.

Severus followed, grabbing ahold of a piece of clothe as he jumped off the edge and barely managed to grab ahold of a zip-line. Using the clothe, Severus made it to the next platform ahead, landing next to Jet.

But before they could catch their breath, more fire came their way, cutting them off from all corners. Without any option, the two began to climb up the tree. Looking around, Severus saw the entire forest on fire, like a burning inferno from a painting. He could even hear the wood cracking from the intensive heat.

Once reaching the top, the two looked around, desperately hoping to find a way to escape their situation.

As the flames got closer, they heard a grunting noise and turned to find Appa flying their way.

"ALEX!" both Aang and Katara cried out.

"Over here!" Severus shouted.

As the flying bison flew by them, both Severus and Jet jumped, landing on the saddle as the fire consumed the trees.

"Alright, let's go find the others!" Aang declared as he steered Appa in the direction opposite of the fire.

Relaxing and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Severus sat down next to Jet, both breathing heavily.

Jet turned around to take a final look at the location where the hideout used to be, a sad expression taking over as he closed his eyes.

* * *

From the ground, Rin-Shaw watched as the bison flew away, glaring at it until it disappeared behind burning trees and smoke.

As he held his daughter's body, he turned around and began to walk away from the flames.

"Sir," one of the soldiers approached him. "They got away. We believe they maybe heading north."

Rin-Shaw didn't meet his eyes as he replied, "I know."

* * *

 **What ya guys think? Please tell me in the review section below. I really want to know.**

 **Once again, I apologize for the late delay in updating and also for any grammar errors.**

 **Thanks again for the support and I'll see you in Chapter 20!**


	20. Past Mistakes and Regrets

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **I hope everyone had a fun Thanksgiving! As for me, I had to work that day, plus Black Friday. Ya for me! But at least I got extra pay, plus a 25% discount, so at least there's that.**

 **Anyway, just a heads up, I will be skipping certain episodes and mainly try to stick with original stuff. The episodes I will be skipping are "The Great Divide" (which isn't a total loss), "The Storm", "The Blue Spirit", "The Fortuneteller", "Bato of the Water Tribe" and "The Deserter".**

 **Before you freak out, I do plan on redoing certain story-arcs from "The Storm", "The Blue Spirit" and "The Deserter", as they do impact the course of the Avatar world in so many ways. I may even reintroduce June the Bounty Hunter somewhere down the line.**

 **The reason I'm doing this is that some of you (not pointing out any names) have written in your reviews that the story is better when it diverges from the main continuity. And yeah, this story has been pretty much a retelling of the Avatar show, with Severus Snape thrown in. I did originally want to diverge when the prison chapter happened, but I found my original plans weren't very satisfying, so I kept a lot of it the same so I could find a better diverge plan to work off of.**

 **I'm currently still working out the details of how I want to do the story, but I do have a destination in mind.**

 **But just to put your worries to rest, I will be keeping Aang and Zuko's backstories the same.**

 **I apologize for anyone who was looking forward to any of the other episodes being redone here, but I've decided that it would be best either eliminate them from the story or try to reimagine them.**

 **Not so sure about "The Northern Air Temple" or "The Waterbending Master" episodes just yet. I understand they plan a part in future story-arcs and will need to be added to this story.**

 **To be perfectly honest, I'm glad to skip "The Fortuneteller" and "Bato of the Water Tribe". Many say that "The Great Divide" is their worst Avatar episode, but "Bato of the Water Tribe" is actually my personal worst of the series. I really hate how Aang decided to hide the message from Sokka and Katara's father. It felt completely out of character, and it's resolved way too quickly. Even Katara and Sokka's reaction (while justified) to the reveal felt a little too out of character and heavily rushed. But with that said, I don't hate it. There are some positives, like the introduction of June the Bounty Hunter (in fact, I think we don't get enough of her), the action sequences, Iroh's hilarious attempts to woo June, and even the resolution of Katara's necklace.**

 **As for the "Fortuneteller", I think the episode is fine and is way better than "The Great Divide", "Bato of the Water Tribe" and even "Jet". My only issue is that I'm not a fan of the whole "destiny" or "your path has been chosen". Other than that, I thought it was fine. Just a regular, normal adventure with our heroes. So, yeah, we won't see the village from the "Fortuneteller" in this story. Just imagine that Aunt Wu predicted the coming volcano and had the village evacuated before it went off.**

 **Actually, I want to point something out real quick. Does anyone else notice how much of a continuity error "The Great Divide" is? Because I've been looking at the map of the Avatar world and I've noticed how the Great Divide is actually below Giapan, where the "Jet" episode happens. And our heroes are supposed to be heading North, despite that the episode happens after "Jet". So either they took a wrong turn or the episode was accidentally aired out of order. Just saying.**

 **Anyway, enjoy Chapter 20!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty:**

 **Past Mistakes and Regrets**

* * *

The sun rose high in the sky as the large group of the - now homeless - Freedom Fighters journeyed across the forest and vast landscapes. They moved as fast as they could in order to put distance between them and the Fire Nation soldiers who burnt half of the forest to the ground. Some of the children cried, unable to comprehend that their home had been taken away from them... again.

Since evacuating from the valley, they had no choice but to travel northwest, as everywhere else was either a dead end by rivers to the East and South or heavily occupied Fire Nation colonies to the West. Jet had tried to argue that they should settle in a new area around Giapan but was persuaded not to by Severus, who reasoned that his priority should be the people of his group and finding a new home that would shelter them from their enemy.

As far as they were concerned, Giapan was no longer a safe haven for them.

The days of traveling weighed on them. They could see the smoke from a distance as they walked, a reminder of what they had lost.

Getting their sleep by night, they took no chances stopping by day for any other rest, except by a single wagon that was being pulled by Pipsqueak, who seemed to never get tired.

Katara and Sokka were not so comfortable in remaining with the Freedom Fighters after helping them escape from the Fire Nation. An argument broke out between the four of them on the second morning after traveling all day and night since. Only Aang and Severus were in favor of staying and helping them on their journey. The argument was won by the ultimatum that if Aang stayed, so did Appa.

While Severus felt irritated in feeling this way, he was more worried about Katara as each day passed. An aura of anger and bitterness was felt in her presence, making him and anyone else feel unwelcomed. Even Aang had taken notice of this, unsure how to approach her.

When it was just the four of them at night, plus Appa and Momo, she was her usual self. But whenever she was around the Freedom Fighters or heard the mention of them, her expression would change into anger and disgust. Whenever Jet came to talk to them, she would stand up and leave, only to return once he was gone.

But her anger was only reserved for those who fought with Jet on his missions. The children and teens under their care still held a soft spot in her heart, as she was willing to help those with their camping gear and food. Even rocking a small girl to sleep when she heard her crying.

Witnessing this felt so familiar to Severus as he studied her, wondering why this would have brought so much distrust and anger out of her.

In order to ensure their safety, Aang would use Appa to fly ahead and search for easier paths to cross through the mountains. Even flying back the way they came to see if anyone was following them.

It didn't dawn onto Severus until he began to notice a something was off about the Airbender ever since the attack on the hideout. No longer was he making jokes or trying to have fun. Instead, his head was hung low, a sense of sadness and brooding. And the way how Katara was acting didn't help with his attitude either.

Shockingly enough, the only one who seemed to be okay was Sokka.

But as the days turned into a full week, everyone began to question their destination.

Talks were held between them and the Freedom Fighters a couple of times, which forced Katara to be in their presence.

While Aang voted to make way to the Northern Air Temple, he immediately went against it as he remembered that the mountains were much harsher and difficult to travel through. Sokka voted for Omashu but was reminded that a Fire Nation army and a large river stood in their way, not to mention the time it would take to get there on foot. And Ba Sing Se was out of the question.

It seemed as though their only option was to keep traveling north, making everyone become depressed at the feeling of having no place to go.

But it wasn't a complete loss or terrible experience.

With the threat seemingly behind them, they eased into settling for the night earlier than usual. Because of this, they were able to go get any food and water before sundown. And because of this, both Severus and Sokka resumed their training with Jet, who offered to continue with them. Though they were still new to the skills they were learning, it became clear that their training was paying off as time went by.

As week two came, both of them were easily adapting to the hard workout that Jet would put them through. Even Sokka was loving the abs and new found energy that seemed to come to life from him. And Severus found himself able to tolerate doing workouts before training more often.

Because the training becoming more part of his life, Severus found himself becoming stronger in so many ways than just the physical side of him. His insecurities were becoming less of an obstacle and his anger was becoming easier to control. Even young children he was able to tolerate and be around. Which came in handy, as almost everyone was so fascinated with him, especially the little girl he saved. A few times, he found her staying as close to him as possible, almost as if she felt safe and yet frightened in his presence. Looking at her reminded him of the one girl who helped saved from those mysterious attackers in dark cloaks.

There was a moment when he finally addressed her, almost scaring the poor thing to death when he spoke from where he was sleeping.

"Yes?" he turned his head to look at her.

The girl jumped to her feet, startled that he knew she was there and ran off.

Since then, the child kept near him, but at a comfortable distance.

It was by the end of the third week that the whole group came across the ruins of the abandoned city of Taku.

Deciding to rest for the night, everyone unpacked and settled in an abandoned structure of the destroyed city.

Aang explained how Taku used to be a great city over a hundred years ago, as it was a large distributor of cargo imported from ships to the entire Earth Kingdom. But his little tale was brought to end as he looked down in shame.

Unaware of the boy's sadness, Jet added that the city was one of the first attacks by the Fire Nation, helping in their efforts to claim most of the Eastern coastline.

As everyone settled for the night, a storm slowly appeared over the mountains and began pouring rain onto the city. The sound of the wind and the raindrops were so peaceful that many fell to sleep without any trouble, despite the lightning.

Later in the night, Aang gasped as he rose from where he slept, eyes wide and sweat falling from his forehead.

Looking around, he sighed in relief that he didn't wake anyone and wiped the sweat off of him as he stood up, sitting down next to one of the few fires nearby.

Severus opened his eyes, having heard monk. He sensed movement next to him and saw Katara walking up from behind, place a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of worry.

Aang remained still, staring into the flames before he shook his head, "No, I'm not."

Severus felt impressed with the boy's honesty.

Katara sighed, moving to the opposite end of the fire to sit down.

"You've been having nightmares lately," hugged her knees to her chest.

Even Severus had noticed the young boy twisting and turning at night, whispering the same words repeatedly.

 _'Why did you leave?'_

 _'You've left us to die.'_

 _'We need you, Aang.'_

He would even mumble about a shadowed man amongst a burning inferno, with lightning flashing before him as he cried out with fire from his mouth.

Aang nodded, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Aang, you can't just block us out like this. Something isn't right with you."

"I could say the same thing about you," Aang looked up at her.

Katara turned away, closing her eyes.

"Ever since what happened three weeks ago, you've been nothing but angry and bitter."

"Well, I guess I'm still trying to get over the fact that Jet and his little band of murderers almost flooded an entire village of people!" she fumed. "What if a little girl lost her m-"

She stopped herself, sighing as she got her anger under control.

"I'm not here to argue," she looked up at him. "I'm here to talk to you. I want to help you with whatever is bothering you."

Aang closed his eyes as tears began to fill them, threatening to break loose.

Sniffling, he buried his eyes into his forearm, allowing the tears to flow freely as he cried.

"It's all... my fault..."

Katara's face softened, looking at him with sadness, "What do you mean?"

Looking up, he pointed towards the kids around them, "This! Them! What's happening right now! What's been happening for the last hundred years! All of this is my fault! I let this happen!"

"None of this is your fault, Aang!" Katara cried out. "The Fire Nation did this, not you! You didn't run away from this!"

Aang's face fell as his eyes lowered to the ground, more tears sliding down to his chin.

"Actually... I did."

Katara's eyes widened in shock, "What?"

Aang struggled to speak through his sniffling, "I did run away. Don't you understand? I ran away and got stuck in an iceberg while my people were killed by the Fire Nation. I wasn't there to stop them!"

"But... you could have been killed too... even if you didn't run away... you couldn't have saved all of them-"

"But I could have tried!"

"And you would have died with the rest of your people," she pressed. "Maybe the Avatar would have been reincarnated into the next nation of the cycle, but the results would have still been the same. You can't blame yourself for what happened."

Aang shook his head as he looked at the sleeping kids, "And my people aren't the only ones I've let down. I've let them down too. All of the pain and suffering they've endured... it's all because I couldn't stop it."

"Aang, stop-"

"No, Katara! Please, I need you to hear me out!" his face so full of regret and sorrow. "When we rescued those Earthbenders from that prison, I didn't fully realize the reality of what this war has done to the people affected by it. I should have, but I didn't."

He paused, getting his breathing under control.

"But when Jet almost flooded the village, that's when I slowly began to realize how bad this war was. It was no longer just the Fire Nation who were hurting innocent people, it was now those who were affected by the war. It was now turning others into murderers. And if it wasn't for Alex..."

He flinched at the thought.

"And when the Freedom Fighters lost their home, I got a good look at what it was like for them to lose everything to the Fire Nation. I hate myself for not realizing this when I saw my home in ruins or when I saw Monk Gyatso's body. Watching their home, a place that represented happiness and safety, burn to the ground... it made me imagine the burning of the Air Temples..."

"Aang..." Katara looked at him with sadness, wishing she could reach out and hug him.

The Airbender shook his head, "I wish I wasn't the Avatar. I never wanted this responsibility! I never wanted any of this!"

"But you are Aang," Katara countered. "And whether you like it or not, we need you. The world needs you." She paused, struggling with her next words that were at the tip of her tongue. "And... I... need you..."

Her words hit him hard, making his heart twist as the tears kept coming.

"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar. The day that all of this began for me."

Katara slightly smiled, "Well, why don't you tell me about it? Maybe it'll help."

Aang looked into her eyes, "It's a long story."

She chuckled, "Now you sound like Alex. And the night is still young."

Nodding, the Airbender looked into the air as he began, "It all started when I was playing with some of the Air Nomad kids at the Southern Air Temple, just outside the south wall. I was trying to teach them how to do the _Air Scooter-"_

Looking towards the ground as he began his story, images of the event began to pass right before his eyes. Remembering every detail he could from his memory, as if it had happened yesterday.

* * *

 _The young Airbender smiled as he watched his friends use the same technic he showed them in order to do the Air Scooter. He almost rolled his eyes at one boy's reaction to his explanation of how he figured the technic out._

 _"Aang."_

 _He turned around to find Monk_ _Gyatso behind him, along with Elder Monks, on a staircase._

 _"We need to speak with you."_

 _His smile disappeared as he walked towards them, feeling everyone's eyes on him as he climbed the steps and followed them into the temple, arriving at the Elders' meeting room._

 _Sitting on his knees before the five Elder Monks, he felt his heart racing with anxiety._

 _"Am... I... in troubled?"_

 _Monk Gyatso shook head, "Not at all. Have you done something wrong that would make you feel this way?"_

 _"Uh... no. At least, nothing that I know of."_

 _"One cannot feel guilt or shame for something they haven't done, unless if they feel responsible for it."_

 _"Yes, Monk Gyatso."_

 _The Elder known as Tashi huffed in disapproval, "Aang, we have brought you here to reveal the identity of the next Avatar."_

 _The young boy's eyes widened in shock and fear._

 _"It's you, Aang. You are the next Avatar."_

 _Silence passed as he hung his head low, letting the information sink in._

 _"How do you know it's me?"_

 _"We have known you were the Avatar for some time," the elder reached to the side and picked up a rolled up blanket._ _"Do you remember these?" He threw the blanket as it floated towards him, landing softly on the ground and unraveling itself to reveal four toys._

 _"Those were some of my favorite toys when I was little," he acclaimed, picking up one._

 _"You choose them from among thousands of toys, Aang. The toys you picked were the four Avatar relics. These items belong to Avatar's pasts. Your own past lives."_

 _"I just choose them because they seemed fun," he pulled the string of the toy in his hand, watching as the tips spun and flew the item into the air, flying past the Elders._

 _"You choose them because they were familiar."_

 _"Normally, we would have told you of your identity when you turned sixteen," said Monk Gyatso, earning a glare from Tashi. "But there are troubling signs. Storm clouds are gathering."_

 _Aang's frowned._

 _The Elder in the middle of the five-spoke next, "I fear war may be upon us, young Avatar."_

 _"We need you, Aang," Gyatso pleaded, his voice full of concern and hope._

 _His face fell upon hearing his words, closing his eyes as he struggled with the bottomless pit of his chest._

* * *

"Who does that little brat thinks he is anyway?!" cried a Fire Nation soldier as he took a drink of his cup. "I'm sick and tired of taking orders from him, just because his sister told us we had to. I'm tired of chasing his _Avatar_!"

Sitting around a barrel of fire in chairs in the stern of the ship, a small group of soldiers listened to the one rant on, drinking from their cups. Since docking on one of the harbors for the last few days, they took all of the comforts they could get before setting sail again. It was a miracle that they hadn't already, not since the powerful storm a while back that almost sank them.

"Don't forget chasing the _Mysterious Traveler_ as well," said another. "One target was hard enough, but now we have two we need to help him catch?"

"Where did you hear that name?" asked the soldier next to him.

"From the harbors, especially the taverns."

"I never heard of any _Mysterious Traveler_."

"Then clearly you don't listen very well or you're too drunk to listen."

"Or maybe it's both," added a fourth, making the other two laugh, while third glared.

"But seriously," the first soldier spoke again, his voice full of frustration. "We've been following his orders for years and all he's done is complain and treat us like trash. He doesn't respect any single one of us. He doesn't even respect the old man who follows him around."

He finished the rest of his drink and threw the wooden cup against the ground, cracking it.

"Who does Zuko think he is?!"

"Do you really want to know?" a voice asked from a distance, it's source shadowed by the darkness from atop of the steps before them.

"General Iroh!" all four of the soldiers were on their feet. "We were just-"

"It's okay," General Iroh raised his hand. "May I join you?"

"Of course, sir!"

Making his way down the metal steps, he took his seat at one of the empty chairs, rubbing his beard.

"Try to understand, my nephew is a very complicated young man. He's been through much."

"But sir, how can you defend him? After all he's done and said?"

Iroh sighed, "Because deep down, he doesn't truly mean those things. He was made this way by the circumstances in his life. His decisions played a part, but it was also the choices of others that have made him this way."

He paused, continuing to stroke his beard.

"I ask again, do you really wish to know who exactly Zuko is? What drives him so much?"

The men looked at each other, unsure how to respond. After a moment of consideration, they nodded.

Nodding back, Iroh leaned back in his chair, "It all began on the day Prince Zuko decided to join me during a meeting in the Fire Lord's war room-"

* * *

 _Let me in!" Iroh heard a young boy's voice as he approached the Fire Lord's war room. Looking up, he saw Prince Zuko trying to pass two guards in front of him, refusing entry._

 _"Prince Zuko, what's wrong?" he touched the boy's shoulder, coming face to face with the young man._

 _"I want to go into the war chamber, but the guards won't let me pass!" he complained._

 _Walking them away a couple of feet, Iroh tried to reason with him._

 _"You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring."_

 _Zuko looked towards the ground, deep in thought._

 _"But if I'm going to rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?" he looked up at him, pleading._

 _Iroh studied the young man, not letting his expressions reveal his thoughts. But in truth, he suddenly felt a sense of admiration and respect for him. Even surprised by his reasons for wanting to go in. Though he suspected it was to impress his father, he felt pride. Normally, royal kids like him would rather waste time playing and avoiding these types of things. Some were known to chase after the servant girls at an older age. But with Zuko, he saw someone who was driven to uphold his responsibilities and to preserve his honor. A quality few shared, sadly._

 _"Very well," he nodded. "But you must promise not to speak." He turned to look at one of the generals walking by. "These old folk are a bit sensitive, you know."_

 _"Thank you, Uncle!" Zuko acclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement as he bowed._

 _Touching his shoulder, he led him in, not once being stopped by the guards in front._

 _Taking their seats around a large table, they listened to the meeting as it got started. And as promised, Zuko stayed quiet, putting all of his attention into the reports and the recommendations of the generals. Despite how boring it was, he forced himself to stay awake and quiet._

 _It wasn't until he heard the recommendation of a general to sacrifice new recruits as a distraction against a powerful Earth Nation battalion did he suddenly lost control and forgot the promise he had made._

 _"What better to use as bait than fresh meat?" the general smiled._

 _The words made Zuko blind with rage and disgust, rising up as he yelled, "You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?!"_

 _All of the generals were looking directly at him, shocked. Even Iroh was staring at him with worry. And it wasn't before long that their attention turned towards the Fire Lord from behind, who was sitting on his throne, with flames burning around him. His face was kept hidden from the distance and the shadow of the fire._

 _The burning flames grew, almost threatening to consume the room._

 _Zuko turned towards his father, his firm determination and confidence were beginning to wane._

 _"Prince Zuko!" the Fire Lord's angry voice echoing throughout the room. "You were allowed entry because I allowed it! And you reward me by completely disrespecting one of my generals! Your outburst is nothing short of such! You will make this right in the only way possible!"_

 _Everyone waited for him to finish as silence passed._

 _"Agni Kai!"_

 _Zuko turned to look at the general and smiled, "I accept! I am not afraid!"_

* * *

Iroh stared into the fire as he continued, "Prince Zuko was right, you see. But it was not his place to speak out. And the Fire Lord became angry with him. Declaring that he had shown an act of complete disrespect. And there were dire consequences."

He paused to rub his beard, closing his eyes.

"There was only one way to resolve this."

"Agni Kai," one of the soldiers declared. "A fire duel."

"Yes," Iroh nodded. "But Zuko made the mistake of believing he would be facing the general in this Angi Kai. He accepted the fight and declared he wasn't afraid. It wasn't until he was in the fighting room did he realize this."

"Who did he have to face, if not the general?" one of the soldiers asked.

Iroh looked up at all of them, "Zuko had spoken out against the general's plan. But by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord himself whom he had disrespected."

Everyone's eyes lit up as they came to the realization.

* * *

 _Standing before an entire audience, Zuko prepared himself for the duel he believed was against the general, excited to get justice for the men he had planned to sacrifice without regret or shame._

 _Kneeling before the crowd of the large platform, turned and allowed the Fire Nation towel around his shoulders to fall, getting into a stance. But as he searched for his opponent, his eyes widened at the figure opposite to him. Slowly realizing who it was and who he would be fighting._

 _Time slowed down as the towel hit the ground, the figure beginning to approach him._

 _Zuko felt his determination and excitement leave him as he saw the figure's face become exposed to him, making his eyes grow wider._

* * *

Iroh nodded as he saw the realization on the men's faces.

"Zuko would have to duel his own _father_!"

* * *

Rain hit the ground as the wind became stronger, lightning flashing across the sky. Trees moved back and forth, losing their leaves and branches. Darkness covering almost everything, except for the brightness of the moon that managed to shine through the clouds.

In a cemetery outside of a nearby Fire Nation colony, a man stood over a newly made grave, his face hidden. Watching as the rain soaked the mud that covered the body that now laid six feet below. He held a sword in his hands, waiting for the moment when he would drive into the ground, just above where the head of the body would be.

From behind him, a large group of men stood in waiting for their commander.

None dared to let their voices be heard, fearful of what the man would do if they broke the silent moment. Thankfully, the wind and lightning offered protection of their voices from being heard.

"What's taking him so long?" asked one of the low-level lieutenants. "He forces us to journey west just to bury his daughter, leaving Giapan undefended, and our enemy time to escape. This is no time to mourn. We must retaliate!"

"Shh!" another glared at him. "I get where you're coming from, but he is our commander. And we do as he says."

"Shut up, all of you!" a third snapped. "He's just lost his daughter. Show some respect."

Their attention was suddenly caught by the sight of a cloaked figure walking towards them, making some ready to grab either their swords or use their firebending.

"Who goes there?!" one of the Lieutenants shouted. "No one is supposed to be here-"

"Let her through!" the man cried out, not bothering to turn around.

Though reluctant, the Lieutenant nodded and moved out of the way.

The figure in the cloak walked right past them, heading towards the same grave that the man stood in front of. Standing right beside him, the two looked down at the grave. Lightning lit up the area around them as the wind blew against their cloaks, making them flap around.

A long moment of silence between them passed.

"How long ago?" a female's voice asked from behind the hood.

The man sighed, "Three weeks back, in Giapan."

"How?"

Silence passed before he answered, "Captured by a rebel group called the Freedom Fighters. When I attempted to draw them out, they tried to take her with them, but she fell to her death when she resisted."

The woman nodded, "Who was responsible?"

The man swallowed his pride as he forced himself to say the two names that filled his heart with hatred, "A young boy named Jet, and the one many are now calling the _Mysterious Traveler_."

Time went by as the woman let the information sink in, she refused to let her sadness be known as tears soaked her cheeks. She could barely feel the rain as it hit her cloak, sinking in all the way to the skin. Nothing could faze her, no matter how frightening or uncomfortable.

The man never once turned to face her, unable to bring himself to.

The woman felt her control begin to fail as her emotions rose up, breaking the wall that held it all at bay. She began to sob, letting her cries free for all to hear.

She fell to her knees, her hands resting on the pile of mud that stood between her and the body beneath. Dirt covered her skin, only to be washed away by the rain that fell from the sky. Her tears landed on the grave, sinking into the ground.

Unable to control himself, the man knelt to one knee and sat the sword to the side, pulling the woman into an embrace.

Resting her face against his chest, despite the soaked cloak, she cried and tightened her hands with the fabric, seeking comfort.

The man held her as he stared at the grave, his eyes full of sadness. His hand stroked her neck and back, despite being denied the freedom to actually feel her skin.

Soon, the two stood and moved to the other side of the grave, with the sword in each other's hand.

Finally, they're eyes met, and they drove the sword into the ground together, just as lightning flashed over them.

* * *

Staring into the fire, Aang continued his story, unaware that Severus was listening in.

"After a while, things started to get better. Though, that was thanks to Monk Gyatso. After word had spread that I was the Avatar, the kids didn't want to play with me anymore, as it would have been unfair to have the most powerful bender on the planet on any team. Everyone started treating me differently. Except for Gyatso. He continued to be my best friend, even playing Pai Sho and pulling tricks on the Elders. He was upset that they had told me who I was at such a young age."

"So, the Elders decided to tell you ahead of time?" Katara asked. "Despite that you were below sixteen?"

Aang nodded, "They talked about a war, but they refused to say with who. They wanted me to start my training as soon as possible."

"So they knew that the Fire Nation was going to attack," Katara stated, though it was more to herself.

"But things got worse afterwards," his voice lowered.

"How so?"

Aang closed his eyes, "It was after Monk Gyatso upset one of the Elders because of his game with Pai Sho with me. I got scared when I heard Gyasto was called before the Monk Pasang on the matter, so I followed and spied on them-"

* * *

 _Aang followed closely behind as Monks Gyatso and Tashi entered the Elders' room together, approaching Monk Pasang, the leading Elder of the Southern Air Temple._

 _Getting as close as he could without being heard, he listened in on the conversation from a little peek hole from the side of the building._

 _"Elder Pasang, I highly recommend that Monk Gyatso be removed as Aang's guardian and be replaced by me!" Tashi announced._

 _Pasang frowned, "Based on a game of Pai Sho?"_

 _"Based on a game being played when the Avatar should be training!" Tashi argued._

 _"Aang has been training more than any of the children here," Gyatso countered. "There is a time for training and a time for fun. Tashi happened to walk in on game time, as it would seem."_

 _Pasang took their words deep into thought and consideration._

 _"As much as it pains me to say it, Gyatso, but I agree with Tashi. The boy should be training as much as he can. Time is not with us in this situation."_

 _Tashi smiled._

 _"Aang is still a young boy, Monk Pasang. There was a reason why the past Avatars weren't told of their role until the age of sixteen. We risk rushing this if we continue to break the traditions that have been passed down to us. And when we rush things such as this, we also risk doing it improperly. You do not rush baking a pie and expect the same results. There is a way for everything. And as such,_ _Aang needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal boy."_

 _Tashi huffed, "You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny."_

 _Gyatso turned to face him, "I am doing no such thing. Aang will one day face his destiny. But until that day comes, he will prepare for it the way all of the other Avatars have done so."_

 _"Gyatso," Pasang spoke, getting their attention. "I know you mean well. But you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgment."_

 _"All I want is what is best for him."_

 _"But what we need is what is best for the world."_

 _"And how do you expect to give the world what it needs if we can't give one little boy what he needs?"_

 _Pasang sighed, closing his eyes as he thought long and hard about the conversation they were having._

 _"As much as it pains me to say it, you and Aang must be separated," he declared._

 _Both Gyatso and Aang's eyes widened at this._

 _"I will compromise by making sure Aang gets a better teacher, but not under your guardianship, Tashi."_

 _Tashi frowned._

 _"The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple, where a Guru and an Airbending Master will be assigned to him. He will complete his training there."_

 _Despite wanting to protest, Gyasto sighed and bowed._

 _Aang, meanwhile, felt the tears creeping up on him as he stared in shock and confusion. Before he could understand what he was going to do, he found his legs carrying him back to his room as fast as they could, slamming the door shut as he threw himself onto his bed._

* * *

Katara's mouth hung open in shock, unable to hear the rain that continued on outside in her train of thoughts.

"They were going to send you away?"

Aang nodded.

"How could they do that to you? Everything you knew and loved was there!"

Aang buried his face in his arms, "Actually, every Avatar is supposed to leave their home to travel the world in order to learn the elements. It's been passed down that in order for the Avatars to protect the world, they must learn what it is their protecting and to learn every culture. It's like a rite of passage."

"So you went to the Eastern Air Temple?"

Aang shook his head, unable to face her.

"No, that's not what happened."

Katara's face lit up with a realization, "That's when you ran away."

He nodded, "I was so scared and confused. I didn't know what to do."

* * *

 _Aang stared down at the happy children below from his window, watching as they performed his the Air Scooter trick he had taught them. Unable to keep on looking, he walked towards his bed and fell on it, covering his whole head with the pillow in order to drown out the noise._

 _As the pit in his chest grew, so did his determination to avoid his fate._

 _Getting up from his bed, grabbed a piece of parchment and some link, beginning to write a letter with a brush. Once finished, he allowed the link to dry and rolled up the parchment, tying it up with a piece of string. Leaving it on his bed, he grabbed his glider and left the room, closing the door as he took one last look._

 _Heading down to where the air bison were being kept, he waited until no one was around to find Appa. Once saddling him up, he got the animal into the air and flying in whatever direction that was presented to him. Unaware where it would take him._

 _Later the night, Monk Gyatso approached Aang's room, tapping on the door, only to find it open._

 _"Aang," he called out. "I won't let them take you away from me."_

 _When no reply came as he entered the room, his heart began to sink._

 _"Aang?"_

 _Walking towards the bed, he saw a letter and picked up, unrolling it to read its contents._

* * *

 _Dear Gyatso,_

 _I'm sorry for doing this, but I cannot stay here. I never wanted this. I never wanted to be the Avatar._

 _I'm so sorry for this, Gyatso._

 _Aang_

* * *

 _Gyatso gasped, looking out towards the window as a storm raged._

 _Many miles away, Aang and Appa struggled through the very storm as they flew as far as they could. But without knowing where they going, they soon found themselves falling into the ocean as a wave hit them._

 _Sinking into the depths, Aang became to lose consciousness as darkness took over._

 _But as they fell deeper into the abyss of the ocean, Aang's tattoos began to glow, bringing him back to life. Bringing his fists together, a form of ice engulfed himself and Appa, protecting them._

 _But as the storm raged on the surface, the huge block of ice continued to float beneath, unable to be found._

* * *

"The next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in that iceberg."

Everything grew quiet as he brought his tale to an end, except for the fire and the storm.

Katara looked at him with sadness, unsure what to do or respond.

"And then the Fire Nation destroyed my people, burnt my home to the ground, including the other Air Temples. I failed to save them when they needed me most."

Katara felt the tears behind her eyes, "That's not true, Aang."

"Yes, it is," he looked up at her. "If I hadn't run away, I could have saved them."

"You don't know if-"

"I could have saved the world if I had been there that day!" he declared.

"Aang-"

"The evidence is right here, Katara!" he pointed towards the sleeping children. "I feel like a failure. Because I am one." He paused. "But I swear, I will not fail again. I will do everything I can stop this war. To bring it to an end."

"You're being too hard on yourself," the Waterbender got up and approached him, dropping to her knees as she took his hands in hers. "Your people may be gone, but we are here for you. Sokka, Alex and I are here for you. I may not know how that day would have gone if you had been there, but I believe you have been killed if you had."

Aang stared into her eyes.

"And I dread a reality where we never met you. Or Alex. Because you both give us hope. In just two months since we found you, we've helped so many people and given hope to those who had lost it."

She paused, letting the tears come.

"I've once feared I would become like Gran-Gran, so full of fear and dread. But when both you and Alex showed up, you renewed my hope in so many ways. And you both restored hope for my Gran-Gran as well. You haven't failed us, Aang. You haven't failed these children because you helped save them from an enemy who would have killed without a second thought. I believe in you, Aang. We all do."

Aang began to smile as he wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Katara."

The Waterbender smiled, "My pleasure, Avatar."

The two embraced each other, not caring if their tears were getting each other's shoulders wet.

Severus rolled his eyes at the two, closing his eyes as he began to drift off to sleep. As the darkness took over, he thought about Aang's story and took it to heart, reminding him of mistakes he made himself. Mistakes that continue to haunt him.

Soon his thoughts shifted towards Jet and the talk he had with him before the attack on the hideout happened. His words echoed through his mind as he felt himself becoming ashamed. A hidden emotion that always crept up on him.

He questioned his actions and mistakes back in his world. All the times he took his anger on someone who pushed him too far. Sure, his retaliation against the Marauders were ones of defense, but he never really backed down from their fights either. It was all about revenge, to satisfy his wounded ego. Even his anger outbursts towards those who even looked at him wrong.

He felt like a hypocrite when thinking back on them.

He felt regret in his attempts to make others hurt like he did. Like the time when Mulciber and Avery pulled a prank on Mary McDonald, which he laughed at as revenge for all the times she laughed at what the Marauders did to him. Or the times he called muggleborns, mudbloods. All because of how he allowed himself to become brainwashed by his housemates.

The train of thought reminded him of a memory. A memory that refused to leave him alone as he fell to sleep.

* * *

 **I meant for this to be one chapter, but the second half is going to have to wait. This installment alone is already big enough and I'm going to end it here.**

 **So, yeah, I'm pretty much doing 'The Storm' episode now. There are tons of differences, especially with new dialogue, but I'm trying to remain truthful to the source material and not change too much. The rest of it will be covered in the next chapter.**

 **I know I posted an Author's Note before this, but that's been taken down now. It was really just to get the attention of those who live in the United States about the whole 'Net Neutrality' that is going on. So once again, if you live in the United States of America, please help us keep 'Net Neutrality' alive and well by going to 'w w w . battleforthenet . com' and following the instructions there.**

 **I really do appreciate the reviews, guys! Thank you so much!**

 **As I've said before, I will be skipping the next few episodes. I'll either ignore them or redoing in with something a little more original. It all really depends on how I can work it into the story.**

 **But anyway, I think it's fair to say that this story is still going to be huge.**

 **Hope you guys are enjoying the story still.**

 **Message to _'mmaallek'_ : ' _I appreciate your review and for your honesty. I apologize for my story not grabbing you at first. I hope my original content is more satisfying this time around. And sorry to say, but I won't be going back and redoing certain chapters. In all honesty, I'm perfectly fine with the way they are. But I appreciate the suggestion.'_**

 **Message to ' _Review no. 100'_ : _'Congrats on being the number 100th reviewer. As for the whole 'no killing thing', that's pretty much how the original show ran (though it is kinda questionable if anyone did die in certain cases). But I would like to point out that Severus did indeed kill someone in the story. Though, it was more in self-defense of another.'_**

 **Before I go, I got a question for you readers. Please answer in the review section. Should I have Katara end up with Aang? Or should I change it up and have her end up with Zuko? I'm okay with either. I'm just curious what you guys think.**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading! And I'll see you all in Chapter 21! :)**


	21. Dreams & Nightmares

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Sorry for the long delay in updating. Been very busy with stuff and have been working out the plot for future chapters. All is going well and I'm hoping to get back into a weekly schedule of posting more chapters.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has left a review for the story. It really means a lot to me. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _Harry Potter_ or _Avatar: The Last Airbender!_**

 **Anyway, enjoy chapter twenty-one!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One:**

 **Dreams & Nightmares**

* * *

The fire from the barrel created shadows of the five men sitting around it, reflecting off of the metal walls around them, dancing around like as if they were spirits. Everyone was staring in shock at the old man as he told his tale about their captain.

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy," Iroh sadly explained.

* * *

 _Zuko stared in horror at his father as he approached him, taking his time with each step. And like a growing darkness, the Fire Lord's shadow got bigger, threatening to consume him._

 _Zuko struggled to hold back the tears in his eyes, hoping that this was all a nightmare and that he would wake up soon._

 _"Please, father!" he begged. "I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"_

 _The Fire Lord continued to approach, his face hidden in the shade of his shadow, "You will fight for your honor!"_

 _He fell to his knees, "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."_

 _"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" the Fire Lord's voice grew heavy with anger and impatience._

 _"I won't fight you," Zuko's voice was filled with fear and shame._

 _Standing before him, the Fire Lord's shadow completely covered him, his angry eyes focused on him, "You will learn respect! Even if it must mean that suffering will be your teacher!"_

 _Shaking with fear and sorrow, he looked up to his father, tears sliding down his face._

 _A second later, the young prince's cry of agony echoed off the walls as a ball of fire lit up the entire duel room._

 _Everyone who was watching either smiled or withheld any emotion. A young girl amongst them smiled the biggest, taking enjoyment at the sight before her eyes. And the man beside her turned away in shame and sorrow, unable to look any longer._

* * *

Iroh closed his eyes as the boy's cries echoed in his ears, like a series of sounds from a long tunnel.

"I looked away," he finished.

The four Fire Nation soldiers staring at the general, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"I... always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident," one of them said, lowering his head.

" _It was no accident!_ " Iroh acclaimed as he opened his eyes. "After the duel, the Fire Lord declared that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment, he was banished and was sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor."

Realization dawned on all of them.

"So that's why he's so obsessed," a soldier exclaimed. "Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."

"Things will never return to normal," said Iroh. "But the important thing to Zuko is this, the Avatar is what gives him hope."

"But... what about... the Mysterious Traveler?" another soldier asked.

Iroh rubbed his beard, "I do not know what it is that drives Zuko to hunt him as well. It's only the Avatar that he needs to capture. But, if I had to hazard a guess, I think Zuko sees this mysterious person as a challenge. Someone who interests him. After all, he has foiled almost every attempt Zuko has made, but... I also believe that there is more to this person than even Zuko realizes. I saw him up close and personal only once, and from what I've observed... his attitude and presence remind me very much of Zuko."

As silence fell, Iroh closed his eyes again, sighing.

A few floors up, Zuko sat on his knees before a small table, looking directly at a picture that was surrounded by two candles. He continued to stare at it, lost in thought. Not once in several hours had he moved a muscle, or even blink.

* * *

 _The pain was endless._

 _Even in his dreams, he felt it everywhere. It made him want to cry out, to beg for it to stop. To do anything to make it go away, but he felt powerless._

 _All he saw was darkness. Covering everything and everywhere. He became fearful as he desperately tried to remember what happened. But the pain refused for him to concentrate or think clearly._

 _After what felt like an eternity, he soon saw a glimpse of light, growing bigger with time. He slowly realized that the source was only coming from the right side, while the left was left in darkness. Even as the blurriness became more focused and clear, he found that only his right eye could see properly._

 _As his sense came back, despite the pain he was feeling, he recognized the comfort of his bedsheets beneath him._ _Leaning up, he looked around, seeing no one there._ _I_ _n fact, all of his belongings were gone, even the closet was empty._

 _Moving his hands to his face, he felt something on the left side of his face, instantly reviving his fear._

 _Throwing the covers to the side, he leaped_ _off the bed and ran to the bathroom. The moment he saw his face in the mirror, his right eye widened at the sight and his body began to shake. Tears began to form as his body became rigid._

 _Bandages were wrapped around the left side of his face, covering up the skin that lied on the other side._

 _Touching the surface of the bandages with his left hand, his heart pounded in his chest as realization settled in, proving to him that this was no dream or illusion. He began to grab at the ends of the bandages, peeling them off with force. Despite the added pain, he managed to pull the thick pieces of cloth off of his face and threw them to the ground, looking directly into the mirror to see why they were there in the first._

 _Tears began to run down his face as he slowly backed away from the mirror, his heart racing at the sight before him._

 _'No! No, no, no, no, no!' he mentally shouted as his mouth refused to obey._

 _In the reflection of the mirror, he saw that half of his face had been scarred, burnt almost to the bone. It traveled from the side of his nose to his ear, just beneath the eye-brow and mid part of his cheek. His face was two different halves now, making him wish he had kept the bandages on instead._

 _Letting out a small gasp, he fell to his knees and began to cry uncontrollably, his tears hitting the hard ground beneath him. Supporting himself on the palms of his hands, he shook his head in disbelief, unable to come to terms with this revelation. His panting grew louder, as well as his heartbeats._

 _After what seemed like hours, Zuko felt a hand slowly touch his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze._

* * *

Zuko continued to stare at the picture on the small table, not once removing his eyes off of it.

On the painted piece of parchment, a young man smiled in the midst of a beautiful valley, with hints of the ocean in the long distance behind him. A man stood right next to him, with a hand on his shoulder. Sadly, the man's face was accidentally left out, due to a tear in the painting, leaving only the smiling boy.

A knock came from his door, making him turn to see his uncle enter his chambers.

"Zuko, I'm off with some of the men to a local tavern. Would you like to join us?"

The Fire Prince shook his head, turning his attention back to the painting.

"I'm fine."

Iroh stared at him for a few moments, wondering if he should try to convince him or just leave him be. With a sigh, he decided to go for a third option that respected both and knelt down next to him.

"Zuko, if you're going to continue to brood in solitude, then please take this time to consider your options."

"Options?" Zuko looked at him.

Iroh nodded, "Capturing the Avatar maybe an option you are fully invested in, but it isn't the only option available to you. You can abandon this search to settle down here, in the colonies."

Zuko's expression hardened.

"You can sell the ship, including everything we won't need, and open a tea shop in one of the establishments. You can meet a nice Fire Nation girl, marry, have kids and live a peaceful life. There is no shame in pursuing something more than glory and wealth."

"Peace was never an option for me, uncle! You should know that better than anyone!" Zuko glared at him, his voice full of anger. "I won't waste the remainder of my life wondering if I could have succeeded where others have failed! If I could have reclaimed my honor! Capturing the Avatar is the only option I have! Anything else is just a distraction!"

Iroh closed his eyes and sighed, getting up to his feet as he walked towards the exit.

"If you change your mind, you're more than welcomed to join us."

The door shut behind him as Zuko huffed and turned his eyes back to the painting, staring at the boy who smiled with ease.

Closing his eyes, he heard a silence whisper echo in his mind.

 _Suffering will be your teacher..._

* * *

As the rain started to become lighter outside, Katara remained up for a little while longer, sitting next to the campfire. Her thoughts drifted to Aang and his story, feeling an overwhelming sadness for the Airbender. She had spent a long while holding him in her arms, just as he did with her. Their embrace was warmer than the fire next to them.

After Aang had gone back to sleep, Katara found herself unable to do the same, thanks to stirred up emotions that had awakened in her. She sat with her kness against her chest, her chin on resting on top of them as she stared into the flames. Enchanted, she lost herself in her thoughts.

Turning her attention to Severus, she began to wonder if he was cold and decided to bring him a blanket.

Approaching his sleeping figure as silently as she could, she unraveled the blue blanket she got from Appa's saddle and carefully laid it over him. However, her fingers gently brushed against his cheek, feeling the coldness of his skin. And before she knew what was happening, she found herself in a green room of some sorts, surrounded by several figures.

 _"Did you see the look on her face?" one boy laughed. "I can't believe that actually worked!"_

 _Katara shrieked at the sound of the boy's voice, not liking his tone or smile. Looking around, she recognized none of the boys until her eyes settled onto Severus._

 _"Alex?"_

 _When he didn't respond, she quickly approached him, "Alex! What's going on? Who are these people?"_

 _Trying to touch his shoulder, her eyes widened when her hand went right through him as if she was some kind of ghost._

 _"Better yet," another boy spoke, laughing with the others. "I think we should enjoy the fact that we actually got Mr. Broody over here to actually smile." The boy smacked Severus's shoulder, earning a glare from him. "Admit it, Snape! You enjoyed watching Mulciber prank her with that Dark Spell."_

 _"_ _Snape?" Katara frowned._

 _Severus sneered, turning away as his face lit up red with embarrassment, "Shut up!"_

 _"Don't feel bad, Snapey!" the same boy laughed. "She was only a Mudblood anyway. And besides, she didn't seem to mind laughing at what Potter did to you. Now you both are even."_

 _"Who's Potter?" Katara asked, forgetting that no one seemed to hear or notice her._

 _Severus snarled as he quickly walked away from them, leaving Katara to chase after him. But before she could see where he was going, the room changed and she was suddenly in a dark tunnel, hearing a loud howl that sent chills down her spine._

 _Turning towards the source, she saw Severus at the end of the tunnel, frozen with fear. Running up to him, she covered her mouth at the sight he was looking at, watching as a deformed boy began changing into something monstrous. Fur covered its entire body, bones and body parts expanded, with claws and large teeth growing at a rapid rate. Worse was the cries of agony it made, with howls that resembled a wolfbat._

 _As the creature began to settle on its hybrid-like form, its eyes turned to Severus and began to crawl towards him, eventually managing to get into a running position._

 _"Alex, run!" Katara cried, only for the environment to change once again._

 _"How am I to blame?!" she heard Severus demand, taken back by the hurt in his voice. "He nearly got me killed!"_

 _Turning to who he was talking to, she saw an old man with a white beard, standing on the other side of a desk. Though he had a sense of composure, his eyes and voice hinted at an anger behind them._

 _"Mister Snape, you clearly were in the wrong of going out past curfew," he spoke with authority. "Mister Black may have been the one to tempt you into going down there, but it was you who went through with it."_

 _"But he sent me in there to die, sir!" Katara's heart almost broke at seeing the hurt in his eyes, almost as if his faith was breaking. "And I wasn't the only one out past curfew! Potter-"_

 _"Mister Potter saved your life and I think it would be wrong to punish him for doing something so noble as saving his enemy from death."_

 _"SAVING ME?!" Severus's voice echoed through the room, making the Waterbender flinch at his outburst. "So Black gets off on trying to commit murder because someone else was out past curfew, and Potter is free from being punished because he just so happened to save my life?!" He began to laugh, shaking his head as tears formed around his eyelids. "Gryffindors really are your favorites, aren't they? Doesn't matter what they do, they always get a free pass!"_

 _"Enough!" the old man interrupted him, his face hardening. "For the rest of week, you will be serving detention with Professor Slughorn. Also, you will swear an Unbreakable Vow to keep Mister Lupin's secret."_

 _"And what about Black?!" he demanded._

 _"What about Mister Black? If I punish him without giving a good reason, Lupin's secret would be at risk."_

 _Severus opened his mouth to protest, but stopped at the last second, lowering his head in defeat._

 _Katara could only watch in sadness as the room changed, hating she couldn't help him in any way._

 _This time they were outside, under a tree that was near a lake. A castle stood behind them as the sun rose high in the sky, filled with people who dressed in weird clothing that resembled what Severus wore. At first caught by beauty and peacefulness of the environment, Katara's attention was caught by the sound of laughter and cheering._

 _"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" a girl's voice cried out._

 _Turning around, the Waterbender's mouth dropped at the sight of Severus being bullied by two boys, who each held a stick that was like the one he used. She watched as a redheaded girl approached them, demanding that they stop harassing him._

 _'Finally', she thought, feeling a sense of relief for her friend. 'At least someone here is willing to do something.'_

 _Suddenly, the scene started to change at a fast pace, while still remaining in the same location. One moment Severus was on the ground, the next he was in the air, with the same girl demanding once again that they stop. And the next, he was on the ground again, trying to retaliate against his attackers. And then he was back in the air again, being held up by an invisible force field._

 _Katara heard laughter from the crowd as Severus's robes fell in midair, revealing his undergarments to everyone._

 _"What is wrong with all of you?!" she cried out to them, not caring if they couldn't hear her. "Is this how you treat others?!" She turned her attention to the redhead and walked up to her, "What are you doing? Help him! Do something!"_

 _Seeing the lake ahead, she tried to use her waterbending, but was shocked to see that it had no effect._

 _Turning back to the redhead, she what was about to beg for her help until what she saw made her anger change into shock and disgust._

 _The girl's angry glare turned into a smile of delight as she looked up at Severus. It was only for a second, but she saw it with her own two eyes. Even as she turned her attention back to the two boys and angrily told them off, Katara stared at her with wide eyes, unable to comprehend the smile she had just witnessed._

 _The scene changed and Severus was back on his feet._

 _"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"_

 _Everyone went silent, even the two boys and the redhead, who stared at Severus with hurt and sadness in her eyes. Katara didn't know what to make of the moment, not knowing what exactly he said that managed to shut them all up. But she did feel a sense of pride in seeing the redhead hurt after watching her take enjoyment in his humiliation._

 _"Fine. I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you,_ _Snivellus_ _."_

 _The area changed and Katara found herself in front of a portrait of a corridor, watching as Severus tried apologizing to the redhead, who was dressed_ _in a nightgown and her eyes were clearly red from crying._

 _"No- listen, I didn't mean-"_

 _"-to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?_

 _Whatever was going to be said next was interrupted as the conversation jumped ahead, leaving out the context of the argument._

 _"I'm done, Severus!" she declared. "You've chosen your way and I've chosen mine. It's over!" She turned her back to him and whispered something to the portrait, which came to life and opened up, much to Katara's shock and amusement._

 _"Goodbye, Severus," the redhead whispered as she disappeared inside._

 _Katara stared at the back of Severus's head, watching with sadness as he hung his head low and turned around, walking straight through her as everything changed again._

 _Feeling the wind suddenly pick up around her in a large room with overturned chairs and tables, the Waterbender watched as Severus placed his hand on a strange glowing orb. The redhead was right next to him, rubbing her hand as she was hugged by the same boy who was tormenting Severus from earlier. An argument broke out between Severus and an older man, only for the orb to push the three away, except for her and him. She shook her head in disgust when the three of them ran out of the room, leaving Severus alone._

 _As the floor began to rumble and the wind got stronger, Katara was about to run to him until something caught her eye. Turning to the source, she saw a dark hooded figure in the front of the room, concealed by the darkness. Her eyes widened the moment she met its blue, purplish eyes, almost as if they were looking directly into her soul._

 _Suddenly, everything around her went white and silent._

* * *

As Katara snapped back to reality, her eyes met Severus's, who was staring at her with confusion. Her fingers were still brushing against his cheek, making her blush as she removed her hand away from him. But her eyes continued to stare directly into his, unable to look away.

"Alex..." she barely managed to speak from the shock she was still under. "What was that?"

Severus frowned at her, only for his expression to change to worry.

"Who were those people? And why did they call you Snape? And who was the redhead-"

Before she knew it, Severus was already on his feet, almost knocking her over in the process. He began to back away from her, his eyes wide with shock and embarrassment.

"What did you see?!" he demanded, pointing directly at her. "What did you see and how did you see them?!"

With her mouth wide open, she looked away and shook her head, trying to make sense of it all.

"I... I don't... know..."

Severus's body started to shake as he lowered his hand, "Whatever you saw... forget it! Don't ever mention it!"

Taking a moment to breathe and calm herself, Katara looked back at him, "I saw you being held in midair, upside. There were others there too... they were laughing..."

His eyes grew wider with every detail she mentioned, feeling his heart pounding widely in his chest, "Stop!"

"And there was this redhead girl... she smiled at what those two boys were dong... and you..."

"ENOUGH!" he shouted as his face lit up red with anger.

His outburst woke up nearly everyone around them, but he didn't notice or care.

"Alex..." Katara was on the verge of tears. "Were those dreams real?"

Severus turned and ran, ignoring her pleas for him to stay as he ran out into the rain, not caring if he got soaked. Climbing down the ruins of the city, he pushed himself to go further, just far enough to escape the pit that had opened up deep within his chest. Not even the realization that he had left his wand behind made him stop.

Katara watched as he disappeared into the rainy night, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Katara, what's wrong?" Aang leaned up from where he was laying, yawning. "Who was doing the yelling?"

Sokka shoot up from his sleeping bag, wielding his boomerang as his tired eyes looked around, "What? Did we get captured again?"

Others began to awake as well, along with Jet and the Freedom Fighters.

Upon seeing Katara's sad expression, Aang was on his feet and by her side, "Katara, what's the matter?"

Unable to control herself, she turned and leaned into the Airbender's shoulder, sobbing as she let her sadness run free.

Sokka was quickly by her side as well, pulling the two into a tight embrace as others began to circle them, quietly asking each other what was going on.

As Katara continued to cry, her thoughts focused on what she had seen from Severus and the kind of life she had just got a glimpse of. So many questions rose from the experience and a few answers were gain, leaving her to wonder just how much more there really was. But for right now, all she could do was cry for her friend.

* * *

 **Hopefully, this will make things more interesting.**

 **Oh, I should mention one of the reasons for my delay in updating is because I've been rewriting the chapters and making certain changes. One of the biggest changes (and please read this, because it is very important) is that Severus will no longer be going under the alias of _Alexander Blackwater._ Instead, it will just be _Alexander._ Reason being is because I've had people contact me about the last name being too mugglish and I actually agree with them. So instead of having _Blackwater_ , it'll just be _Alexander_.**

 **I'm still currently working on rewriting the chapters, so if you still see Severus under the old name in some of the chapters it's because I haven't gotten to them yet.**

 **Also, some of you have posted about Severus being out of character and I actually agree with that issue as well. So, as part of the rewriting process, I've been redoing the dialogue for Severus and trying to make him more within the character of the books. At least, in a younger version of himself.**

 **Just to point this out, my writing isn't really all that good (as some have pointed out in the review section), so I highly advise you to go into this knowing that. I will try to make corrections and rewrite chapters to make them better, but please know that I am not some George R.R. Martin/J.K. Rowling master. I'm trying to get better, but that takes practice.**

 **Oh, almost forgot, I want to ask you guys something really quick. I've been redoing the plotline for the future course of the series and I've been having second thoughts about having a romance for Severus. On one hand, I like the idea of him getting with someone new and experiencing love from someone who can help him be a better person. But on the other hand, I also kinda have this desire to see Severus get together with Lily and finally get the girl of his dreams. I totally get both sides when it comes to Lily, but there is this burning desire though.**

 **I don't know, what do you guys think? Should I stick with my original plan or go with Lily? Please let me know.**

 **Anyway, thank you to everyone for leaving a review and for the support.**

 **See you guys in Chapter 22!**


	22. Just Once

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **Wasn't planning on releasing another chapter this early, but I was in the mood and I figured why not.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own _Harry Potter_ or _Avatar: The Last Airbender!_ I wish I did though.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 22! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two:**

 **Just Once**

* * *

The cold air and heavy rain from the outside disappeared the moment Rin-Shaw and the woman entered the small brick house and closed the door, removing their cloaks to dry.

Rin-Shaw watched the woman walk towards the kitchen counter, grabbing ingredients from the shelves. He continued to stare at her with longing, never straying away as she mixed the ingredients together in two cups and heat up a pot of water with her firebending. As he watched her pour the water into the cups, he felt a desire to approach and embrace her.

After marking his daughter's grave with the sword that once belonged to her, Rin-Shaw had ordered his men to return to camp without him. They protested in fear of his safety, as he knew they would. He normally would have agreed with them, if it wasn't for the circumstances involved. He needed to see her alone.

His eyes studied her brown, goldish hair with longing, unable to look away.

Once finished, she turned around with two cups of Jasmine tea and walked to the table, handing him his own.

"You're favorite if I still remember correctly," she smiled.

Rin-Shaw smiled back and nodded, "Always has-"

"-always will," she finished.

Taking their seats, they began to drink as the rain started to slow down outside. The noise of the raindrops offered a sense of peace around them, despite how dark everything felt.

The woman stared down as tears began to form and fall.

Rin-Shaw watched her with a heavy heart, not knowing what to say to make the pain she was enduring go away.

Like a silent knife, a small gasp escaped her lips and pierced his heart.

The woman shook her head, "Was she at least... happy with you?"

Rin-Shaw drew a breath, "In some ways, she was. But I know she wanted to come back here."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she tried to suppress them, "I knew she would follow in your footsteps. To make you proud. I've always blamed myself for not trying hard enough to convince her to stay."

The sound of thunder echoed in the distance.

Rin-Shaw reached across the table for her arm, only to pause halfway.

"You are not to blame," he withdrew his hand. "I am."

The woman looked up at him, her eyes heavy with tears, "Rin-"

"Coral's death is my burden to bare, not yours."

He looked at the woman and felt his heart leap at how beautiful she was. Even at her current age, she had retained some of her beauty since youth. If anything, age had improved her in so many ways, and he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms. Even if it was just this once.

 _'No!'_ he declared, banishing such thoughts from his mind.

Caught off guard, the woman's hand reached across the table and touched his forearm, startling him from his thoughts.

Though he wanted nothing more than to marvel in the warmth of her contact, he carefully removed her hand and stood up, reaching into one of his pockets as he avoided her hurt, disappointed gaze.

"I meant to send this earlier," he took out a small bag and laid it on the table. "I'll make sure you get the next one on time."

Without looking back at her, he made his way to the door and touched the handle only to be grabbed by the collar of his uniform and forced to turn around. Meeting her eyes, he felt his heart melt in her blue orbs. She was so close to him that his breath caught in his throat and his heart raced with wild abandon.

"Damn it, Rin!" she cried. "Will you stop being a dog of the Fire Nation and be the man I know?!"

He remained still, refusing to betray his emotions.

"What is it that you want from me?" he demanded in a gentle, authoritative voice.

"You know what I want!" her tears ran free like a river. "We were happy until you decided to join them!"

"I did it to make you proud. To make the Fire Nation proud."

"Those are two different goals, Rin. You've just mistaken them as one and the same. What our nation is doing is wrong! How many lives have been lost to this war? What about our-"

"The Fire Nation isn't responsible for Coral's death!" anger filled his heart. "That leader of those rebels and the so-called Mysterious Traveler are to blame! But I swear to you this, they will pay for what they did to her!"

The woman's eyes widened as she cupped his face and looked deep into his eyes, "Don't do this, Rin! Don't go back and pursue this path!"

"Then what should I do?"

" _Come back_!" she cried. "Resign from the Fire Nation and stay. You've done more than enough for them. I don't want any more gold that keeps reminding me that you're anywhere but here."

Rin-Shaw felt his heart leap with joy and sadness, but a vengeful cry deep within was too tempting to ignore.

Taking her hands, he slowly removed them from his face and held them with a small grip.

"I'm sorry," he averted his eyes from hers, unable to resist her beauty. "But I can't come back... not yet."

Letting go of her hands, he turned around and opened the door, just in time to see the rain stop and the clouds begin to part, allowing for the moon and stars to shine free in the night. However, he paused at the exit and felt the conflicted in the decision he was about to make. It didn't help when he began to hear crying from behind.

He wanted nothing more than to turn around and embrace her, to turn his back on everything else. It took all he had to take the first step outside the house, to gnore her cries as he walked back to the campsite, preparing to give the order for the return trip back to Gapian.

He silently swore a promise to both himself and the woman he had left behind. A promise he was going to keep, no matter the cost. A promise that turned into a determination.

* * *

Severus ran as far as his legs could carry him from the ruins. Despite his robes becoming soaked from the rain and the cold winds making him shiver, he refused to stop. He had no location in mind, only the need to run.

 _How did she know?_

He wished that he never came to this world, that he hadn't taken Lily's place. As much as he regretted feeling this way, there was a part of him that didn't. A break in his defenses that he once trusted when everything else failed him.

The memory by the lake rushed into his head, followed by an overwhelming wave of fear and guilt. And in his moment of distraction, he tripped over a fallen tree branch and landed in a puddle of leaves, mud, and rain. His head was spinning from the impact as his surroundings became disorginated, unable to focus on anything except the way he heart was beating. Every beat echoing in his ears.

Lying there, he began cursing the orb for bringing him to this world, a place he never wanted to be. He wished it had been James Potter who had been the one to touch the orb, so that he could endure what he had. He cursed himself for allowing his emotions to risk his life to save the life of someone who dispised him now. All they ever did was cause more pain.

"WHY THE HELL DID IT SEND ME HERE?!" he cried out in frustration.

Nearly three months since his arrival to this world and he was nowhere near finding his way back. All he had was information about a _Wan Shi Tong's Library_ and an artifact known as an _Infinity Orb_ , both of which he had no idea how to find. And to add on top of that, he's got a Fire Prince hot on his trail and a new enemy possibly out for revenge for the death of his daughter. Not to mention he was now a known wanted fugutive by the Fire Nation.

Everywhere he turned, there was always something getting in the way of his mission to get back home.

His thoughts quickly drifted to Lily, her face being the only connection to his world. He wondered if she was alright, what she was doing in the wake of his disappearance, which he figured was now considered ' _his death_ ' by this point. Would she mourn for him? Had she forgiven him for what he called her? Or did she not care, nor forgiven him?

Overwhelmed with grief and self-pity, his eyelids began to close from exhaustion, barely having the strength to fight against it. As the darkness started to take over, he heard something moving in the bushes in front of him. Forcing his eyes to open, he saw an animal appear, it's head sticking out. Meeting its eyes from the bush that concealed its form, he got to his feet.

Unafraid, the mysterious animal stepped forward, it's paws leaving footprints in the mud as it approached him. Its features resembled that of a fox, but without the whiskers, and had the form of a wolf.

As it drew closer, the fox-wolf hybrid stopped within a few feet of him and stared into his eyes without fear.

Suddenly, something hit Severus's arm, making him stumble a bit. He looked down and saw a dark of some kind, sticking out of his skin. Grabbing it, he barely acknowledged the pain as he pulled it off and threw it to the side, only for his vision to become blurry.

He heard another noise came from the bush and looked up to see a mysterious cloaked figure following the creature.

Frightened, he reached for his wand, only for his eyes to widen at the fact that he had left it behind, instead resulting to wandless magic as he got his arms into a defensive position. However, he was met with surprise as the fox-wolf creature growled and leaped forward, knocking him down with its paws and weight. As he fell backward, the animal pouncing onto him, pinning him to the mudy ground. It growled and showed its teeth, holding just within reach of his face.

The cloaked figure walked forward and knelt to one knee over him.

Removing the hood, Severus saw an elderly man with slightly darker skin and white hair, as well as a white beard and two small white whiskers on each side of his upper lid. He also had a scar that went over his right eye, including another that was close to his ear. But it was his eyes that truly caught his attention.

From the bushes came more people in cloaks, holding swords, spears, arrows and bows.

As they began circling around him, the fox-wolf hybrid leaned closer with another growl, just as the elderly man took his sword and used the bottom end to hit Severus on the head, knocking him unconscious as the dart that had hit him began to take full effect, throwing him into a world of darkness.

* * *

 **Sorry for the chapter being small. But at least we've gotten through the backstories of Zuko, Aang, Severus and (kinda) Rin-Shaw. Well, Rin-Shaw was more of a speculate type of backstory, which I felt was a much better direction to go with him.**

 **Also, just for those were confused about the Rin-Shaw parts of this chapter, there was a section in Chapter 20 where he and the woman were laying Coral to rest. I meant for this to be in the last chapter but forgot to write it in when I published it.**

 **Appreciate the feedback in the reviews, thank you to those who took the time to write them and share your thoughts. Keep 'em coming!**

 **Alright, so a lot of you have expressed your displeasure in Severus getting together with Lily, which I kinda figured was going to be the majority. As I said before, I do have a direction all planned out in who Severus will get with and how to connect it with his journey. However, I am a little worried about going through with it. Mainly because if I do go in this direction, it will be a major change. And as we all know, sometimes change can leave a negative impact, which I am worried about.** **Though the more think about it, choosing Lily is more of an _'easy'_ route (Dumbledore quote!) and this idea I have in store is the _'hard'_ route.**

 **In a way, I guess my desire to see Severus end up with Lily is very similar to what J.K. Rowling once said about Ron and Hermione's relationship. In fact, I think she once called it a _'wish-fulfillment'_. And in a way, this is my _'wish-fulfillment'_ , even if that's my only reason. Not entirely sure why, but it just is.**

 **Just for the record, I am a shipper of Harry/Hermione.**

 **Anyway, with that in mind, I have officially made a decision on the matter and will go through with it. Hopefully, I won't run into any more doubts along the way. However, I won't reveal who it is, just to make things fun for you guys. So go ahead and speculate. Is it someone we already know or is it a new character? Or is it Lily? Only one way to find out!**

 **Just wanted to get this out of the way, I have spent a great deal of time thinking out the plot to this story and I've settled on how it will play out and end. So there will be major changes along the way, with some things remaining the same, but ultimately different.**

 **Another thing, for those who are wondering, Severus Snape's potential love interest will not be Katara or Zuko. I've been getting reviews asking and some speculating about that, and I want to confirm that Katara and Zuko are not on the list. The reason why Katara isn't is that she's more of a friend/sister to Severus, which has been the whole point in developing their friendship.**

 **And as for Zuko, I can't see him being with Severus because they are too much alike. Too much _fire,_ if you will. If anything I would either pair Zuko up with either Mai or Katara.**

 **Speaking of which, do you prefer Zutara or Kataang?**

 **Well, that's it for now. See you guys in Chapter 23! ;)**


	23. Let It Flow

**The Mysterious Traveler**

* * *

 **I know I've been gone for a LONG time and have uploaded some new stories instead of the ones you all have wanted to read about, so I deeply apologize for that. My reasons for why the delays have been so long are because I went through some form of depression about a year ago and I wasn't in the mood to write for a while. I can't get myself in the mood if I'm having very mixed emotions. Then work got involved and I was suddenly busy, so basically life was just getting in the way.**

 **I've posted new stories in my ever growing _"Severus Snape Series"_ , which I have big plans for. Go check them out on my profile.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the newest chapter I've managed to complete.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three:**

 **Let It Flow**

* * *

 _Darkness filled his vision, a cloud of emptiness stretching on endlessly. His first thought was that his eyes were closed, but was proven wrong when he blinked, although he couldn't see. He moved his hand to his face, feeling the warmth of the contact between skin. Turning aimlessly, with no light to be seen, he felt panic begin to rise as his chest rose and fell, his breathing turning into panting._

 _Taking a moment to calm himself, he took a step forward as slowly as he could, fearing that he might begin to fall or get his footing wrong, only to let out a sigh of relief once he felt the flat surface beneath him. He did the same with the next foot, slowly built up the confidence to begin running, hoping to find a way out of the darkness. It wasn't long before he was sprinting across the unseen floor to find a way out of the empty abyss before him._

 _It never occurred to him how much stamina he had in how long he was running, lost in his fear of being trapped in a place like this. His heart beat rose, pumping against his chest as it rang in his ears, a reminder of the bells back at Hogwarts and a reminiscent of his life before he fell from the sky._

 _Within a blink of an eye, a brink light appeared in front of him, blinding him as he came to stop, nearly tripping in his sudden halt. Holding his hand in front of him to shield his eyesight, he tried to get a glimpse of the light, but was unable to. He reached for his wand, only to find that it wasn't there._

 _The light began to dim, allowing him to lower his hand and look directly at it._

 _Floating in the darkness, just a couple of feet away from him, was a glowing orb. An orb of white light as it lit up the abyss around him, like a beacon._

 _Narrowing his eyes to study it, he instantly recognized it and slowly approached it, remembering the last time he rushed to touch it. But this couldn't be the same one as before, it was supposed to be back at Hogwarts. His world. Unless…_

 _His train of thought interrupted as the orb began to change from different colors at a rapid pace as he drew near, forcing him to stop in fear. And as he did, the orb settled on the color of red, creating a disturbing atmosphere around him. It reminded him of a scene from a movie he once saw, a space adventure that had a group of humans struggling to survive on a planet that orbited a red sun._

 _Conflicted, Severus made his decision to approach the orb, forcing himself through his fear of what will happen next. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he touched the surface of the red orb and felt a surge of energy flow through his spine._

 _A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes and found himself in the hallway of some house._

 _Looking towards where the orb was supposed to be, he found that it was no longer there and lowered his arm back to his side, turning his attention to his new surroundings. Only to quickly recognize that the hallway, and with that realization came a rush of fear that pierced his heart._

 _"I asked you a question!" a voice yelled, quickly making him turn. "Where have you been? And where is my son?"_

 _The man stood in front of his mother, angry eyes that were under the spell of alcohol._

 _The woman struggled to answer, "I was out... running errands..."_

 _His heart was beating against his chest as he remembered._

 _"Severus's... at the park."_

 _The man mockingly laughed, "You think I don't know that you took money from wallet while I was asleep?! You went out and wasted my hard-earned cash, didn't you!"_

 _"Tobias... I swear-"_

 _The strike against her cheek made Severus cringe and look away as she shrieked in pain. He heard the door open and a pair of footsteps approach, the beer bottle shattering as the man fell to the ground and pleading of the woman as they all slowly realized what had transpired._

 _"My boy?! No, no, no! Not my boy!"_

 _"Tobias, please! It wasn't him-"_

 _"One- one of you?! My son is an abomination... a mistake... like... you?!"_

 _"Tobias! It was me who shattered the bottle, not him! Severus can't perform magic like I can!"_

 _"You...! You made him like this! The one normal thing in my life and you took that away! My son!"_

 _"No! Tobias, don't touch him!" Eileen screamed. "SEVERUS, RUN!"_

 _Without looking only made it worse as he heard the man grab the unseen boy and drag him to the living room, the blows that were being forced upon a child, the cries of an innocence dying before its time._

 _"So, you and this little shit think you can steal my money, destroy my beer and lie to me?! Well, let this be a warning!"_

 _Frozen with fear in the hallway, Severus's body began to shake as his heart pounded in his chest, a growing sound that got louder with each strike and cry that came from the living room. And worse, he could feel the pain that the boy was experiencing, the impact of each punch that left their mark._

 _But unlike the boy, Severus never once cried out. He forced himself to endure it, to push his fear aside in his attempt to survive the ordeal. Just knowing that it would end was enough strength to do it._

 _However, his belief was met with a bittersweet result._

 _Laughter filled his ears as the pain suddenly vanished and a new kind took his place. He quickly opened his eyes to see where he was and felt a single second of enjoy seeing the hallways of Hogwarts, only for it to disappear as fear and anger took its place in remembrance of what he was witnessing now._

 _A young boy with greasy hair and old robes was struggling to pick up his books that had fallen onto the ground, while fighting off two other boys as they tried to hex him. And with every hex that hit him, Severus also felt. Including the hatred that burned in his heart for both boys and the fear of the humiliation he was suffering in front of everyone._

 _Just seeing the way how the two boys wore their enjoyment of the moment on their faces made both the boy and him glare at them in anger. They hated how their pleasure ruled them in their decision-making, like an intoxication._

 _A flash of red light blinded him for a second, quickly changing his surroundings from the hallways of Hogwarts to a beautiful landscape under a tree._

 _He saw a boy and a girl of red hair there, sitting together in the shade. Both were doing their school work, enjoying the peaceful moment without anyone in sight to ruin it. And like before, Severus could feel the boy's emotions. The way he stared at her made his own heart ache, understanding the emotion that he was experiencing._

 _But there was also fear filling his heart. A fear of exposure and rejection. Memories of the man filled his head, including the boy's. The fear of pain made the boy turn away, pushing all his emotions down as he focused on his school work, while Severus looked on._

 _Another flash of red light appeared, and the scene changed back to the abyss of where he had started, with the orb floating just above him. Looking directly at it, he wanted to shout at it and unleash his anger but was refused the chance when three figures appeared from the darkness, floating off the ground as they came to a stop just below the orb._

 _Severus's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Tobias, James and Lily standing in front of him, their eyes directly on him. He felt fear as each face held a different emotion at him; hatred, pleasure and love. All for him._

 _His heart began to race with overwhelming fear, panting as he struggled to form a coherent thought on what to do._

 _But then, without warning, the bodies of Tobias, James and Lily evaporated into ash, disappearing as three new figures replaced them. Severus watched in awe and confusion as the bodies of Aang, Katara and Sokka were suddenly standing there in the place of the others, staring at him with loving expressions. And the fear was once again filling his heart._

 _He remembered the ruins of the Southern Air Temple and the terrifying graveyard of skeletons, the small desire to be part of the embrace that the three had in that moment._

 _He remembered the oil rig prison for Earthbenders and how the Fire Nation treated those who they considered to be mistakes in their own eyes, while Katara tried to strengthen their spirits by using him as an example._

 _He remembered his time training under Jet in the attempt to gain better skills, alongside Sokka as his partner._

 _He remembered how they took him in when they could have felt him to die in the snow of the South Pole._

 _With each memory, he felt an appreciation and a realization for each of them as his fear suddenly evaporated along with them, with the figures of Tobias, James and Lily reappearing, wearing the same expressions as before. But this time, the fear was nowhere to be found in his heart. Tobias's hatred no longer held any control over him, James's pleasure no longer angered him, and Lily's smile made him want to smile as well._

 _In his moment of relief, he felt something tingling in his spine, like as if a bolt of electricity was flowing right through him._

 _As their bodies evaporated for the final time, the red light from the orb changed to yellowish gold and a gravitational feeling urged Severus to approach it. Reluctantly doing so, he slowly reached out and placed his hand on the orb as he had before, and he felt the dark ground give way as he began to fall deep into the abyss._

* * *

"Did you feel that?"

Severus heard a voice ask, though it sounded liked it was coming from a dark tunnel.

"The boy," another voice declared. "Something's changed."

"What do you mean?"

There was silence, which Severus figured was either because he didn't know, or he didn't hear the man's response.

He felt himself slowly beginning to regain consciousness and choose to allow his body time to gather its strength before making any moves. He started to remember what had happened in the woods after he had stupidly ran off. It was clear that he was now a prisoner of whoever had attacked him, but the question remained of who and why.

"Are you sure he is the one they speak of?" he heard a man ask.

The second hummed, "We won't know until he's awakened."

"Was attacking him necessary?"

The man grunted, "I wasn't going to wait and find out."

The other laughed, "I'll bring my daughter once we've confirmed he is truly who we've been searching for. Now if you'll excuse me, watching him sleep is rather contagious."

No one spoke again after that, leaving Severus to his thoughts as he wondered who these people were and whether if they were referring to his given alter-ego name. He also wondered where Aang, Katara and Sokka were, if they were out looking for him in the rain, which made him angry for running away like he did.

As he slowly began to wake up, he saw opened his eyes and adjusted his sight with a few blinks, seeing that he was in a hut, surrounded by candles. His arms were bound behind his back and around a wooden pole that held the hunt together. A figure stuck out to him on the other side, a man in some brown robes. His head was bowed, and his hands were placed together, meditating. It appeared he was asleep, but Severus knew better.

"You've awakened," the man looked up and stared into his eyes as he lowered his hands onto his knees. "I'll ask you just this one question. Are you the one they call the _Mysterious Traveler_?"

Severus stared back at him, "Yes."

* * *

"ALEX!" a voice echoed through the forest, making some bird-like animals take flight through the night sky as the clouds began to disperse after a long storm that had come through, allowing the moon shine down from above.

"Okay, what exactly happened, Katara?" Sokka demanded as he used his club to cut his way through the leaves and branches.

"It wasn't my fault… at least, not on purpose," Katara sighed, her eyes looking desperately into the darkness for her friend.

"Okay, but can you tell us what happened back there?" Aang asked.

The three of them had been searching the forest for nearly an hour after waiting out the storm to search for Severus, who they feared may have gotten lost. It took a while for the two boys to get any information out of her, who was not willing to share anything with Jet or the Freedom Fighters around. They had ultimately agreed to split up to search the forest, leaving the three of them as their own group while the others did the same.

"Uh, I don't know how, but… I was somehow in one of Alex's dreams…"

The two boys stopped and turned to look at her, their eyes wide.

"Wait… what?"

Katara sighed, "Look, I don't know how it was possible, but I witnessed something that Alex was dreaming about and the moment I told him what I saw, he just… freaked out."

"First waterbending and now dream-bending?" Sokka shook his head. "Remind me to sleep as far away from you as possible."

Katara snorted, "Like I would ever want to see what you dream about."

"Um, guys…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, so me refusing to see your messed-up dreams is now offensive to you?"

"Guys!"

Sokka's mouth dropped in shock, "I'll let you know that I have some of the most amazing Sokka-style dreams. And you aren't invited!"

"Does Suki have anything to do with-"

"GUYS!" Aang shouted as he prepared his staff in his hands.

Both Katara and Sokka turned in his direction and saw what he was referring to.

In the bushes were a pair of eyes staring at them, the rest of its form hidden in the darkness. But then it began to move forward, and a wolf-fox hybrid appeared, coming to a stop just a few feet away from them. It growled, forcing them to get into a fighting stance.

A small whistling sound was heard, and the animal stopped growling as it turned its head towards the source.

A man appeared from the bushes of where it came from, being followed by another.

"Uh, hi," Aang sheepishly waved. "We're sorry if we worried you guys. Our friend is lost and can't seem to find him. Name's Alex, but everyone else has been calling him the Mysterious Traveler. Have you seen him?"

The two men looked at each other, a silent exchange passing between them.

* * *

 **I have to admit, it feels good to be back doing this.**

 **Sorry for this not being big, but I promise you won't need to wait long for the next chapter.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has been supporting my stories and leaving reviews behind. It means a lot.**

 **Also, I'm making rewrites of my previous chapters to help correct some things, so if you've noticed that some moments are different when re-reading this, it's because I've changed it.**

 **Thank you for reading and I'll see you in Chapter 24!**


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